Adventures of a Jellicle Understudy
by Mistoffolees'girl89
Summary: CHAPTER 13 IS UP! Misto plays a bit more of a supporting role in this chapter, and Andrew and Gillian feature a bit more, you actually get to hear them talk for more than a quip! Based loosely on Mistoffelees' New Owner by Yayne. read, respond, enjoy!
1. Chapter 1, Ecstatical, CATS!

_Author's Note_

_This is sort of loosely based on 'Mistofelees' New Owner' by _**yayne**_ I liked the story, and wanted to see if I could do something like it, though I changed a few details, like Jacob being gay. He's not here. There are a few other changes as well, either just because this is my story, or I couldn't find out the accurate information. Sorry._

_This happens 13 years after the first video was made. Andrew Lloyd Webber has called the remaining movie cast back to do a 30__th__ anniversary video, with proceeds going to various animal charities and such. They know about the existence of the Jellicles. One new member, Alicia Connors, does not. This is her take on things and what happens during and after the second DVD is made._

**Chapter 1. Ecstatical, CATS!**

Alicia Connors dropped her backpack of supplies and looked around the set. She couldn't believe it. Four years of hard work, surgery, no sleep, no life outside her obsession, and she had made it. She was on the cast of CATS. And not just some little community theatre production, but the real cast, Andrew Lloyd Webber and everything. She couldn't believe her luck. Granted, she was only the understudy for Electra, but she was ON THE CAST, and that was enough. She was also one of the makeup and costume girls, and she knew she might be called on to do a bit of gofer work, but at that moment, she didn't care. She had made it.

Someone sidled up behind her, making her jump. A familiar chuckle rose in the air. "You're the new one aren't you, the little understudy that just barely got in?" Alicia turned around. It was Bryn Walters, player of both Plato and Macavity.

"Go get me a coffee," he demanded.

"I just got here." Alicia stammered, "can't I get situated first?"

"No, you can go do your job, before I get you…"

"Leave her alone Bryn, she's not your personal coffee girl. It's her first day, let her get settled in like everyone else." came another voice. A shorter, dark haired man said, coming up out of the changing rooms.

"Hey, she's a gofer, I'm just making sure she can do her job."

"Don't be an ass, we got tired of it _last_ time."

"Hey, the minute I start taking behavioral advice from a fag…"

"Bryn, that'll be more than enough," came a third voice. A tall, lean man of maybe 40 sidled up to Alicia and wrapped an arm around her as Bryn stalked away "You all right, honey? Next time he bothers you, tell Mr. Webber. We had problems last time. Either the Mac costume turns you into an ass or they typecast him. I'm John, by the way, John…"

"Partridge. Yeah…I, um…I'm sort of a major 'Cats' fan. I'm Alicia Connors, by the way"

"Well then, you're the luckiest girl on the planet now, aren't you, hon? Other than Bryn, you should have the time of your life here, Right Jake?"

The dark haired one nodded "Yeah. I know I'd do nothing differently if I could go back. Jacob Brent, or, as John likes to call me when he wants to piss me of, Quaxoffelees." Alicia shook his hand, grinning. "Wow, I can't believe how nice you guys are. You play my favorite characters. I always figured you'd be a little…you know…"

"Stuck up?" Jacob supplied "Nah, we leave that to Bryn. He's so good at it, you know."

Alicia cracked a smile. Bryn had almost made her cry when he'd threatened to get her fired after only five minutes on set. It was just the wrong time of the month to mess with her.

Bryn came storming back up, punt kicking her backpack out of his way as he rounded on the three. "Hey, gofer, I asked for a coffee, and I haven't gotten it yet. Do your damn job before you lose it! Your not gonna get by here, hiding behind those two poofs! It's not like they can't replace you in a shot! Ha, an understudy for _Electra_? You're pointless! You're _useless!_"

Something snapped. Alicia glared at Bryn, an eye twitching.

"Get your own god-damned coffee! Mr. Webber hired _me_ over hundreds of others, I am not useless! I'm just as important as you, you hack! Your crowning moment is a fucking _Giggle_! You're Plato, a chorus kitten, and Macavity might get his own song, but he doesn't even make an appearance except for before and after! Even Old Gus and Bustopher Jones get more screen time than you, so shut your face and get out of mine!"

Somewhere behind John, a voice sounded "Damn. I like _her_." accompanied with a groan. Alicia wasn't finished.

"Furthermore, if I hear one more gay slur, I'll shove something up _your_ ass so far you'll be coughing up whatever I decided to put there!"

The voice sounded again "Damn…Misto, I _really_ like her!"

"What, you telling me we got another queer on board?!"

"I'm straight as hell, you asswipe, but that doesn't mean I have to listen you go around ragging on everybody that _is_ gay just _because_ they're gay. Now leave me alone before I get really mad and bust out the military training!"

Alicia turned around as a speechless Bryn stomped off, cursing fluently under his breath. "What the hell was that?" Came the amazed sounding voice for a third time. Alicia looked to see who it was. Two people in back were in Rum Tum Tugger and Mr. Mistofelees costumes, looking at her in disbelief. John chuckled. "I think Bryn picked the wrong time to piss her off."

"What?" asked the one in the Tugger outfit.

"I think it's her time of the month."

"How do you know that?" Alicia asked, blushing.

"Honey, I'm Gay. It's sort of my job to know that sort of thing about my girlfriends."

"Ah," Alicia muttered before she took actually notice of the two Jellicles in back. "Hey, who are you two? Are you their understudies?" She said pointing back at Jacob and John "Why are you in costume? Oh, Shit! Am I supposed to be in costume? Why doesn't anyone tell my these things?"

"Hey, calm down kid, you're not supposed to be in costume, Don't worry" Jacob said, patting her on the back. He looked at John and the two in cat getups. "She had to find out sometime, better it be sooner than later." Alicia looked up at him in confusion.

"What's going on?"

"They're not in costume." John said.

"What? What is this? Is somebody pulling a prank on me? 'Cause that's not funny."

"No, honestly, no pranks," Jacob exclaimed, waving his hands in pardon. "Let me explain. You see, the last time we did the video, I went and got a cat that looked like Quaxo, and brought him around the set. As we were filming, ah, well, it's sort of a long story, but he ran off and when we finally found him, he was…well, like you see him now. The last time we made the video, we sort of, kind of, found out that Jellicle cats actually exist."

Alicia looked at him, shaking her head "That's not funny guys, really not funny. I mean, thanks for saving my ass with Bryn back there, but something like this just isn't funny."

"We're not being funny, honestly! Mistofelees, Tugger, show her."

"If we have to." the Rum Tum Tugger grinned. A slightly glowing haze coated the two of them, and as Alicia watched, the two understudies transformed, impossibly, into a huge black and gold Maine coon mix and smallish black and white tom. Alicia stared for a minute straight, wobbling, before her eyes began to waver. "I got her!" John called as she started to topple over. The two cats looked at each other and returned to Jellicle form as Jacob and John fanned off Alicia.

"Ah, here we go. Welcome back, sleepyhead." Jacob smiled as Alicia's eyes opened. She was sitting on the ground, four faces surrounding her. Two were cat faces. "Ah!" She cried, sitting up in a shot "What the hell? There's no way…no way…this is-this is impossible! Jellicles can't exist!"

"Actually, its ineffable…here, feel my face if you don't believe us." The Rum Tum Tugger said, leaning down in a very non-threatening, very sexy way. Alicia, action taking over in her mind, blushed '_Did I just think a cat was sexy? No, no, this is a prank, he's not a…_' her hand reached up and touched his face of its own accord.

A fine, thin layer of what could only be fur covered it, from his forehead to his nose, to right over the tiniest of clefts in his top lip. The whiskers, which she thought had been glued there with spirit gum, were real. Her eyes grew wide, and Tugger, both to prove his point and to tease her, took her hand from his face. She saw the small, extra joint in his fingers, saw the claws retract, and as he kissed the back of her hand, she felt the tiny barbs on his tongue. Alicia's eyes began to unfocus again, and if she hadn't already been on the floor , she would have fallen. Tugger held onto her as Mistoffelees scolded him.

"Really, Tug, do you have to tease all of them? She's having a hard enough time believing it."

"Hey, she's doing better than Gruber did. He fainted dead away, and we hadn't even Jellicle'd out in front of him."

Alicia sat on the floor, trying to take everything in as she took tiny sips of the water someone had handed her. "I heard my name," came the voice of a third man. He was shirtless, in jeans with the top half of a grey striped unitard hanging over the top. A Jellicle wig and grey tabby makeup dominated his face, but Alicia recognized him. Michael Gruber crouched down and held out his hand.

"I know it takes some getting used to, and if they haven't told you already, don't feel bad: I fainted too." he helped her to her feet, a friendly smile under the makeup. "You're doing better than most of the few new ones. But after that thing with Bryn, I can see why. It's nice to have you in the crew, Alicia. Anyone who can stand up to 'his almighty Brynness' like that is fine in my book. You going to be okay with all this? I know it's a bit of a shock."

"I think I'll be okay…this is just going to take some getting used to. I mean, all the implications…how deep this could go…I…it's just amazing…13 years, and the secret's still under wraps."

"We know when something is important enough to protect. If we let it out, well, you've already realized the implications… I don't think what you could imagine is much off from what might actually happen, especially since you were with the government for a while."

"Yeah…"Alicia whispered. Michael looked up, grabbing a pants pocket as a cell phone went off. "Ooh, gotta go, Charlotte needs me back in makeup. See you around."

"Yeah…"

"So…any questions?" John and Tugger asked at the same time. Alicia looked up at John.

"Are you sure you're gay?"

"Hundred percent, sorry love."

"Damn."

John laughed, and smiled. "Just for the record," he said "I am, but Jacob isn't, despite what Bryn said."

"Really?"

"Yep. Married, with a munchkin."

"Well, damn again." Alicia said, making a silly little sad face. "O-okay, now to you two…" she said, addressing the Jellicles. "How many of there are you?"

"Worldwide or in the cast?" Mistoffelees asked. "Both." Mistoffelees grinned. She was getting used to them pretty fast, if she was prepared to ask those questions. "Worldwide, we're something like 3 to 5 percent of the cat population. As far as the cast goes, there's few more than twenty. And before you ask, Old Gus and Asparagus _are_ two different cats. They're brothers…long story…but everyone else asked eventually."

"Okay. Good to know. Now, how come you two aren't like a hundred years old?"

"What do you mean?" Tugger butted in, looking confused. Alicia frowned, thinking how to put it. "The book this play's based on was written like 90 years ago, and it's … a bit obvious now that you're the ones in the poems. How come you're not older?"

Mistoffelees and Tugger looked at one another. "The man that wrote those poems knew of us." Mistoffelees said.

"Well, not us, per say, but the Jellicles in general. Old Deuteronomy was his cat." Tugger cut in.

"You're joking." Alicia said, sitting down on a nearby pile of 'junk.' Jacob and John quietly withdrew. They knew the story, and they had to get to makeup, besides. Mistoffelees shook his head. "No, really, in his last life, Old Deuteronomy lived with Mr. Eliot. He thought that the Jellicles needed to be remembered, if anything should happen, you know, worried over the wars and everything, but he told Mr. Eliot, and well, you know the rest…"The black cat flushed slightly and rubbed his neck.

"Yeah, but how did he know about you? Are you two on--second lives?"

"No. Um, can you believe in magic?"

"What? Oh, well….I guess if I can accept that a formerly fictional species of cat-beings can exist I can believe in that." Alicia murmured, feeling, now that the shock had worn off, a bit awkward around the two men--toms. She wasn't sure why. Mistoffelees smiled. "Old Deuteronomy has magic. During that lifetime, he had prophetic visions about a few future tribe members and four of his sons."

"Four…? I always heard the 'three brothers theory'; you know, Munkustrap, Tugger and Macavity. Who's the fourth?"

"Well, at least that part is right. People are brighter about this than I thought." Tugger grinned. "Alicia," he said kindly, winking at her and smiling as he wrapped an arm around Mistoffelees' shoulders, "Let me introduce you to my baby brother." Alicia looked at the two in surprise. She could understand the three brothers theory. All of them had at least some tabby markings on their face, and Tugger's mane was striped, even if the rest of him was coated in spots…but Mr. Mistoffelees?

"I know I don't look it. I take after my mum, but…yeah."

Alicia sat there, digesting the information, watching with half an eye as Mistoffelees noticed something stuck in Tugger's mane and proceeded to groom it out. Tugger ignored the process except to lean in a bit. He turned to the stunned girl.

"Anything else? I'm not as disobliging as my song leads everyone to believe, so shoot."

"Um…just how much like cats are you when you're in--Jellicle form?"

"Oh," said Tugger dismissively "it's about 50-50. We look like you, mostly, and we can eat stuff in this form that we can't as cats. And there's the whole talking thing, but we're still cats, so don't get shocked if we do something that's human taboo."

"Like what?" Alicia said worriedly. Tugger grinned. "Well, I've read a few fan fiction stories when John lets me on his computer. Nobody can seem to figure out if Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer are twins or mates or what. They're both, but it works different with cats, sooo…yeah. Same with Coricopat and Tantomile. It's sort of the whole, 'who else would put up with them' thing."

"I see. That does make sense." Alicia fidgeted with the toggles on her backpack. Tugger extricated himself from his brother's grooming and slinked down beside her, leaning in close and speaking softly. "You don't have to pretend to be comfortable around us, you know. I know we're unsettling. You just have to let it come…naturally, dear." He rubbed against her shoulder and purred. Alicia tensed up and blushed furiously before a hissing snicker sounded and the Rum Tum Tugger bounded off. Mistoffelees sent a small blue bolt after the tom, which hit him square in the butt. Tugger hopped spasmodically and Alicia giggled despite herself.

"Did he just hit on me?" came her bemused reply.

"Don't worry about it. He hits on _everybody._ Alicia, he was serious though, about the comfort thing. You don't have to pretend to spare our feelings. We know we're a shock, and we won't be offended if you're a bit jumpy at first, but…if you ever need help, or just someone to talk to, and you don't want another human to hear it, well, we're here, and we know how to keep a secret."

Alicia really looked at him for the first time. Technically, he was in his Quaxo form, with the white on his legs and right arm. His eyes, she noticed, were two different colors, one blue, one gold. Suddenly, he no longer seemed threatening, or even frightening. Just a little strange. She smiled "Thank you, Mr. Mistoffelees."

"Please, call me Misto, or Mistoffelees. The Mister bit's just there to help the song's tempo along."

"All-all right…Misto."

"Miss Connors! I need your help in makeup, someone's tied the mane in knots!" Came a voice from back stage. It was Charlotte. Alicia jumped up, running back to the booths to help the older woman, waving awkwardly to Mistoffelees as she went.

Somewhere near the pipe, Jo, Drew, Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer lay piled together in silent giggles.


	2. Chapter 2, Accidentical Cats

**Chapter 2. Accidentical Cats**

Over the next two weeks, Alicia settled into the cast. Aside from her, there were five other new understudies, all of whom had had a harder time accepting the Jellicles than she. Sir John Mills, the original Old Gus, had passed away some years before, and Susan Jane Tanner, Jellylorum's actress, had just had surgery, and would only be able to participate in the last part of the recording, so they had to find replacements for them as well. Everyone else was original. And they all were so close in personality to their Jellicle counterparts it was ridiculous

Alicia found her niche well enough. She was friends with just about everybody, and made sure to learn everyone's name. She and Charlotte, a formidable tank of a woman in her early sixties and Maryanne, the ditzy brunette, were continually cracking jokes in the makeup booths. Jacob and Drew were usually hanging out with DVD recorders if they weren't getting worked on or on stage, and Drew had managed to snag outtake gold. Charlotte said something to Michael, already in full costume, that sent him into a fit of laughter so hard he started sneezing. He took a drink to calm himself down, Charlotte built on the original joke, and Michael spewed orange soda out his nose, all over John, who was in all white that day. To get out of the wet clothes, John promptly started a ridiculous striptease down to his skivvies, which cracked everyone up so much the girls had to redo five makeup jobs.

Alicia got along well with most of the 'Kitten Girls' as everyone called the main actresses. The two guys who played Tumblebrutus and Pouncival, Fergus and Karl , were busy teaching her how to do back and front flips better, and acted like they were still in high school, which Alicia appreciated. The people she hung around the most though, were the ones who'd helped her out the first day, and their Jellicle counterparts. Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer were the two hyperest people-er-cats, she'd ever met, and Drew and Jo weren't too far behind them. Within two weeks, they were behind easily 75 percent of the onstage pranks, and Jo and Rump were just plain fun to have over at your place.

Munkustrap and Michael were the quiet type, but that was okay. They both were helping her with her routines and Michael had even taught her a trick to lift both male and female actors. Tugger was always right behind her if Bryn started his bullshit, with John on the other side, both cracking jokes at their own expense to cheer her up, and telling funny stories just to make her laugh. Tugger still hit on her, but Misto had been right, he _did_ hit on everybody, even John, which was the weirdest thing in the world to watch when John was in costume…which was usually when Tugger did it. But even with their weirdness, they both seemed to have appointed themselves her guardians.

Jacob and Misto were by far the two she felt the closest to. They could talk about anything, and neither had ever judged her for some of the insane shit she thought up. She even got along with Jacob's wife, Shelby, and his daughter Julia loved her. Jacob had offered to help her continue her Broadway and ballet classes, and she had accepted.

Misto often roamed the set in cat form, and if you couldn't find him, he was on Alicia's shoulders or in her lap, napping, or pretending to, at least. Of all the Jellicles, Misto had been the most vocal about his own kind, explaining some of the rules and a lot of the family trees to Alicia, which she found extremely interesting. She, in turn, told him about her life, the military, how she had tricked their surgeons into stretching her tendons, everything.

He was always surprised by the lengths that Alicia had gone to get what she wanted, as far as the CATS thing was concerned, at least.

"Why would you do that?" he'd asked her about the tendon surgery. She'd smiled "I over extended them for a week on purpose. I knew they'd fix them, because I'd done it as part of my training…trying to be the best, I hurt myself. They admired my 'dedication' so it wasn't too hard to convince them to help me out a bit to make sure I could do what needed to be done, without hurting myself."

"Weren't you scared they'd find out you were duping them?"

With a huge grin, Alicia had whispered "Yeah, but it was worth it."

Misto had to agree.

Filming was taking longer this time around, since Mr. Webber was older, the set was bigger, and they had to work around the Really Useful Company's new schedule, which after a lawsuit, only allowed them to film 6 hours a day. It was mid September when they had started, and Mr. Webber said they wouldn't be done until at least February, due to the fact that they were also making film versions of the top five fan fictions Mr. Webber had seen submitted to an online contest he'd thought up as a way to raise money for the film. The Cast also had to perform in a couple of New York Parades (again, for fundraising) for the ASPCA and a couple of other organizations, but no one minded the longer production time. It gave everyone opportunities to relax.

About the third week into filming, Alicia was hanging backstage, doodling boredly and humming the Cats overture. They were filming the Macavity bit, so she didn't have to deal with Bryn. She sighed, and out of nowhere, Mistoffelees appeared, making her squeak.

"Sorry. You look bored."

"You, sir Cat, are a master of the obvious." Misto bowed sitting and smiled "Thank you, but seriously, what's up?"

"Oh…I'm just mad at myself."

"Why?"

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"And Pandora ruined Curiosity. Come on, what's the matter?"

"I just don't get myself sometimes. I work so hard just to get on the cast of the best musical ever, get on, and three weeks later, I'm wanting more than just an understudy position. I feel so ungrateful." Alicia said, putting down her doodling to face him.

"You're not being ungrateful. You want to better yourself, see what more you can do. You can't have been aiming for Electra understudy, so it only makes sense. Who did you want to play?" Misto asked gently. He hated seeing his friends in a slump.

"I wished I looked more like a guy. I really wanted to play either, well, _you_ or Tugger, but I'm too short for him and too hippy for you, or any tom role. My voice isn't super high, so I can pull off that part. I wanted to play Munkus or Skimble, but again…the hips. And I don't have the chops to pull off Rump or Vicky."

"Yet. I've seen you practice. You try so hard. And you got on the cast with only four years of the classes every other actor's been in since like, age two. That in itself is something. Don't get so down on yourself. Besides…I heard Mr. Webber say he's going to get the Broadway show running again and see if he can get one going in Las Vegas, and that he'd pick people from this cast to do both, so who knows who you might be cast as. You know everyone's moves, so I don't see you _not_ getting a job."

Alicia nudged the black cat, giggling at the very thought of it. "Is that one of your magical predictions, Mr. Smarty-socks?"

"Nope. Just facts, Cici"

"You're easy to talk to, you know that? You're a good friend, Misto." Alicia had long since gotten over her shyness around the toms, partially thanks to Tugger, and to her mantra (_Just remember, they're cats_) so she just flopped over and leaned on the tux tom. She didn't see Mistoffelees blush.

Alicia, tired from a night of intense practice, fell half asleep on Mistoffelees' shoulder. The tux, realizing how embarrassed he felt, and not entirely sure why, shook his head. He was in his thirties, and here he was, blushing because someone fell asleep on him. '_What kind of cat are you, Misto_?' he asked himself '_You've had Victoria fall asleep with her head on your butt and you blush over this? I have to stop hanging out with Tugger, he's starting to mess with my head._'

Misto managed to shake Alicia awake, effectively ending his discomfort, when they heard a thud and a scream. A muffled "CUT!" rang out before a shower of 'is she okay?' reached them. Rosemarie and Phyllida came backstage, Leah Sue between them, crying and dragging a foot bent at a weird angle. Misto and Alicia jumped to help as the two set her down.

"What happened?" Alicia asked

"She landed wrong," Rosemarie said, looking at Leah's ankle as she pulled off the legwarmer. "I think she's broken something."

"Leah, can you move your ankle?" Misto asked as he inspected her leg. It was swollen and quickly turning an ugly purple. Leah tried, and screamed in pain as soon as the ankle moved. "Broken, definitely."

Mr. Webber came puffing back stage, his face pale. "Is she alright?" he asked no one in particular. Alicia and Phyllida both shook their head. "Misto says it's broken." Phyllida said, rubbing her friend in between the shoulder blades to try to calm her down.

"Damn. I've called an ambulance. They should be here in a few minutes. I'll go with her."

"All right, sir. We'll get her out of her costume."

"Yes…do that…I…" Webber said quietly as he went to watch the door, trailing off.

"Is he always that distracted?" Alicia asked. Rosemarie smiled "Only when someone gets hurt. Here, you two help me get her out of this thing. Mistoffelees, is there anything your magic can do?"

Misto shook his head "It only works on Jellicles. I don't know enough about how humans are built to try to heal anyone. I'd probably just make things worse."

"Okay. Um, could you turn around while we…"

"Oh, yeah, sure…sorry."

"Ow. Owowowowowowow. Oh, I'm sorry, everyone. I didn't mean to, I just slipped." Leah said, tears still coursing down her face. "Happens to all of us." Rosemarie said, unfastening the shoulders of the unitard. Alicia pulled off the Jellicle wig gently and used her sleeve to wipe off the greasepaint. "You'll be fine, Leah. I think it's a clean break. You'll be back up in no time."

"Oww. I hope so. But, hey, ow, at least you get to be on film for a little while, Cici." "I don't want to if one of my friends has to get hurt for it to happen."

"Here we go." Said Phyllida as they eased Leah out of her costume. Alicia ran and got a blanket for her, since she was in nothing but her underwear, and it had turned cold the last week.

The ambulance came and took Leah and Mr. Webber to the hospital. It turned out it was a clean break, but it would still take two months to heal well enough for Leah to be Electra again. Alicia felt guilty about it, but she couldn't help but be a little excited. She finally got to be onstage!


	3. Chapter 3, Theatrical Cats

**Chapter 3. Theatrical Cats **

Alicia fidgeted in the chair as Charlotte dabbed on the makeup. This was new. The older woman shook her head. "I just can't figure it out…I can get any makeup job to fit any face, and this one just doesn't _go. _Your face is just too expressive for this face. You need something more like Rumpelteazer, but I can't switch out the patterns."

"It's all right, Charlotte. I'm not supposed to look like me. I'm supposed to look like her." Alicia said, wrestling her arm out of the bib and pointing at the real Electra, who was sitting next to Etcetera and Jemima, the real ones, all of whom were being silly and playing with the old makeup stubs. Electra was now green. "Never mind." Alicia muttered. "Ow!" "Sorry," Maryanne apologized "you've got really long hair, you need all the bobby pins I can get in there." Alicia winced. "I'll braid it next time." she muttered. "Ooh, now there's an idea!" the brunette squeaked before yanking a glob of pins (and a fair bit of hair) off Alicia's head, throwing the curly gold mass into a military up braid in two minutes. Alicia grinned. She loved the sensation of having her hair played with, and leaned in before a rubbery _squeee_! grated across her head. The Jellicle wig, mounted on the only thing a dancer couldn't fling off their head, a swim cap a size too small, fell into her eyes before the brunette adjusted it, teasing it out just a bit.

Charlotte did the rest of her face, still grumbling, and buttoned up the unitard. Alicia looked in the mirror, and a grin spread across her face. Leah came stumping into the makeup room on her crutches, which were wrapped in ten colors of neon streamers. Alicia and the queens started giggling, Charlotte and Maryanne just shook their heads.

"Alonzo and Mungojerrie attacked them at the door." she explained. "Those two are not allowed to hang out together, they're too friggin' weird."

The real Electra rolled her eyes. "You should have seen what they did to Etcy when she broke her arm; the wings didn't come off for two weeks!"

Leah shook her head, deciding she didn't want to know, and turned to Alicia. "You look great. I'm glad you were able to fit in my costume. Did they shorten it for you?"

"Misto did, said it'd be easier to fix if he did it with magic."

"Ah. Well, be prepared, Gillian's on the warpath today, and she wants everyone doing 'Jellicle Songs' and the ''Ball' routine. You got everything down?"

"Most of it," a beeper went off, "Oh, shit, I gotta go or Andrew'll skin me…twice! Sorry to run!" Alicia flew out of the chair and the room, leaving everyone looking behind her. Leah sat down next to Electra, and promptly set to turning her blue. "I hope she does all right."

_Six Hours Later_

"My ass…I can't feel my ass…" Alicia moaned as she dragged herself to a pile of backpacks, which she promptly flattened as she flopped back on them, burying her face in

John's delicious smelling leather jacket. Cat steps greeted her ears, and a whisper tickled her neck. "You can't feel it, but I sure can!" Alicia jerked up as someone grabbed her behind and then ran off, snickering.

"_Tugger_! When I have the energy to find you I'm getting you neutered!"

Skimbleshanks and Munkustrap, who were lounging on some of the set, winced, before hopping down. They disappeared for a moment, and came back frog-marching Tugger toward the girl. Skimble had a rusty pair of shears in his hand, and Tugger was pleading for his life.

"Come, on, Ally, I was just messin' around! There's no reason to-to…wait, what are those?…what're you doing…Ally, come on, this isn't funny-Ah!"

Alicia knocked the off balance Tugger down, menacingly brandishing the shears, which he hadn't seen. Placing a hand uncomfortably high on his thigh, she moved the scissors out of his line of sight, which was very short, as she leaned in and blocked it, smiling wickedly. Tugger's face turned a sick green as he felt the shears glance his lower belly, and his eyes unfocused when he heard the _shnickt_! as they closed.

Skimbleshanks and Munkustrap laughed uproariously as Alicia waved Tugger's mutilated belt in front of his eyes. Tugger just moaned and fell back, not even saying a word, thankful all his bits and pieces were still in one place.

"Come on, Tugs, get up." Alicia smiled as she grabbed his hand and yanked him to his feet. "You didn't honestly think I'd do that to you, did you?"

"Well…I…no…but, still…" Tugger stammered, glaring at the two tabbies still laughing it up at his expense. "Man," the Maine coon whined, "That was my only belt, too."

"Sorry, Tugger. I'll go steal John's for you, if you'd like."

"Not the same." he pouted. Alicia took pity on him. "All right, tell you what, I'll forgive you, and plead your belt's case to Mistoffelees so he'll fix it."

"Hug on it?" Tugger asked, making the most pitiful, kittenish face. "Sure." Alicia said. Tugger opened his arms and leaned in. "…but just in case…" Alicia grabbed his arms, spun him around, pinned them to his back and hugged him from behind. Tugger was released, the look of 'what-the-hell-just-happened?' stuck on his face.

"Remind me not to get 'er mad." Skimble whispered to Munkustrap "Or let her hang around Jenny too much. I'd like to keep m'tomhood, and she'd be teachin' Jenny that trick and a few more!" Munkustrap chuckled and nodded. "Agreed, as long as you keep her away from Demeter for me." The old friends went back to their lounge spot, still laughing over the young understudy's antics.

Over the next few weeks, Alicia got her ass handed to her at least once every day. While she agreeably had the skills for an understudy, she was just building them for actual dancer. Gillian worked them hard, and Alicia most of all, since she had to make up so much of the time. Alicia actually found herself grateful to be an understudy--the expectations for the professionals were insane, though the choreographer did seem hell bent on turning her into the best dancer she could, even if it meant killing Alicia in the process.

Not that Alicia was complaining. When she could find the energy to move, she noticed that she could stretch further, and that her movements were getting more controlled. She was finally able to do a split all the way to the floor, and her balance had improved dramatically. She still had trouble with a few of the more athletic moves in the Ball routine, but Andrew was forgiving and Gillian unmerciful in her training, so things were getting better. She had an easy time finding her other costumes, since she knew where she put them, so during the 'Gumbie Cat', 'Pekes', and 'Growltiger' routines, Gillian let her slip up just a bit on occasion for getting ready fast. She found out just how hard the business was, and didn't regret it for a second.

Alicia was one of the last pranksters on set. After the first few weeks, most of the actors got it out of their systems or just ran out of ideas. Alicia hadn't. Her first week acting , during 'Memory' costume rehearsal, she had convinced John to start hitting on Elaine. The poor woman had burst out laughing in the middle of the song at the figure John was cutting. John ran with it and started doing part of the Tugger routine at her. Andrew had been livid. The week after, during the 'Tugger' bit, near the end when all the kittens were swooning around Tugger, Alicia leapt on Jo Bingham (Etcetera) and started a phony catfight, which broke John's composure and cracked him up too much to even try to finish the song. Rosemarie, who was also in on the joke, sauntered up to John, yelled "I'm pregnant, you jerk!" pretended to slap him, and huffed off stage. John ruined his makeup job laughing. Alicia got sentenced to practice the Conjuring Turn, one of the hardest of the routines, for three hours. It was worth it, because Andrew decided to put both incidents on the outtakes section.

During the first week, Alicia had been puzzled as to where all the stage hands, camera crew, and general film crew were. There were only about thirty of them, instead of the near eighty she knew there had been the last time. During her first day of filming, in the 'Jellicle Songs' routine, she'd figured it out. One of the shots had set the spotlight flying, and she saw Asparagus working the boom. She found out that a majority of the cats had studied the stage jobs last time around, and had agreed to help Mr. Webber out. She still found it weird when she saw the real Plato and Cassandra repairing some minor set rigging, though.

_A Backstage Incident. _

Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer giggled as they left the pile of backpacks. It was near the end of the fifth week of shooting, and the two figured it was time to snatch something.

"Whadja get, sis?" Mungojerrie asked as he stuffed a handful of bills into a bag. "T'ree ipods, a load of random jewelry an'a gold herringbone necklace. You?"

"Cash, diamond cuff links, and two gold cards."

"Nice."

They slunk away as they heard footsteps approach.

Alicia dumped her backpack on the ground, tossing objects left and right in a panic. "Where is it? Where is it? Damn it, where the hell did it go?"

"Lose something, lass?" Skimbleshanks asked, looking over her shoulder. "My ipod. Have you seen it? Did I leave it on the set somewhere? It's black, with green paint all over it."

"Sorry, lass, no."

"Damn. Where could I have…"

"Who's been in my wallet?" Tony Timberlake (Asparagus) yelled across the way. "My credit card's gone!"

"Mine too!" Aeva (Demeter) cried as she dumped out her purse. Other actors came over to the backpacks, wanting to know if they had anything missing. Ken was missing cuff links and Michael had lost some cash.

"What in the world? Who's been in our stuff?" Jacob grumbled as he looked through his pants pockets for his money. Alicia saw something on the back pocket and snatched the jeans from him. A tuft of orange fur peeped out of the back pocket. "And the family'll say, 'it's that horrible cat'." she groaned. "I'll be right back."

Alicia hopped up and ran onstage. Jacob realized what she had meant as he looked at the back of his pants. "Dammit!"

Being a gofer was never dull, and one of the advantages was you learned the set and all the best hiding places quickly, if only to use them for shortcuts. Cutting through the Mistoffelees pipe, she hung a right to the oven, which had a secret door on the side.

Ripping open the door, she was greeted by two cockney screams. Not dropping a beat, her arms shot into the tight spot and grabbed the first thing they found.

Actors looked up as a chorus of "Owowowowow!!! Leggo Leggo!! Come on, Cici, we was just 'avin' a lark is all!" greeted their ears. "Uh-uh, save it, you two. I am _not_ putting up with suspicious looks for two weeks before everyone figures out it _wasn_'t me. Now, spill or I'll sic Munkus on you!"

"Ow ow ow ow!" The cast members present let up a cheer as Alicia came into view with Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer, a twins' ear in either hand as they flopped around dramatically, making pained faces, imploring for help. Alicia twisted their ears until they started dolling out their stolen goods, shamefaced.

"I'll take that over from here," Skimbleshanks said, grabbing the respective ears of his adopted children. "I, don' care how old ye get, ye're still pullin' this malarkey, and I'm havin' none of it any more. I'm getting Mistoffelees to do that spell he threatened!"

"No, Dad, anything but that!" Mungojerrie cried out as Ken reclaimed his cufflinks. "Dad, please, 'at's jus' cruel! Anything but that! It's so embarrassing!" Rumpelteazer whined, trying to look innocent. Skimbleshanks wasn't falling for it. He handed Alicia her ipod as she asked "What would he do?"

"Ah, nothin' bad, just every time they try to steal something' seriously, they turn colors. They hate it."

"Ah, spare them, sir Skimble." Ken said as he laughed. "I think you and miss Alicia have exacted enough revenge on their ears for all of us."

The twins looked up hopefully, and one by one, the actors, who were all snickering silently now, nodded consent and took mental notes to bring zipper locks tomorrow.

The twins sank to the floor, thankful they escaped a week of turning blue, and glanced up at Alicia. She was crouched in front of them, a wide, crazy grin on her face. "I know you two are kleptos, and that you can't help it, but if you ever actually need something, or wanna borrow something, you just have to ask, okay? I won't refuse that."

"We know…but the stealin's just so fun…and…" Mungojerrie muttered.

"I know it is." Alicia said, waving the herringbone necklace in his face. The two Jellicles looked up at her in shock, mouths open. The pick pockets had had their pockets picked! "Hee hee!" Alicia giggled before tossing the necklace to Rosemarie with a "Here, catch." Two jaws snapped shut as they tried to figure out just how she had done that.

The two orange tabbies left backstage, bashfully apologizing to the cast. Apologies were accepted quickly, because most everyone knew that they really couldn't help themselves, and it _was_ just the first offence.

Alicia sat back amid the pile of backpacks as actors began to file back onstage, hoping Gillian would forgive her for being late. For a moment, she flung her leg back, doing a stretch, before laying back and resting, her eyes closed.

"My, someone looks comfortable." came a familiar chuckle. "Gyahh!" Alicia choked as she flew up, almost head butting Mistoffelees, who was leaning in, grinning at her. "Don't _do_ that!" she groused "You're gonna give me a heart attack one of these days, Misto!" "Heh heh, sorry, Cici." Mistoffelees laughed, sitting down. "Those two…honestly, I need to figure out a spell to fix their heads."

"Nah," Alicia grinned as she nudged him with her elbow. "Those two are fine just the way they are, let 'em alone. They add some entertaining dramatics to the monotony of theatrical life."

"Um…what?" Misto laughed as he raised an eyebrow at her choice of words. Alicia giggled and stuck her tongue out at him. "They make it even more fun around here, silly."

"Ah." the black cat nodded studiously before nudging her back. "Tugger still mad at you for the whole belt-scissors thing?"

"No…if anything, he hits on me more now. I think your brother's a masochist!" Alicia promptly stuck an earbud in his ear and played 'The Masochism Tango' by Tom Lehrer. Mistoffelees sputtered and snicker-hissed as he listened to the song, sadly able to picture his older brother throughout the whole thing.

"Stop-stop! Enough, no more, no more!" he pleaded, laughing as he handed the earbud back, wiping an eye. "You are a twisted individual, Alicia Connors." he smiled as he leaned on her, trying to get his breath back. Alicia quirked her head toward him, giving him a smile with enough silly cockiness to easily match Tugger's or John's. "Ah, yes, but you still love me."

Misto tried to respond, but doubled over in silent giggles as Tugger himself walked by and Alicia hummed the first few bars to the song. Tugger glared at the two and stuck out his tongue, shaking his hips in Alicia's direction and sauntering off with a wave. Mistoffelees glared at his brother's back, and couldn't figure out why.


	4. Chapter 4, Conspiratorical Cats

**Chapter 4. Conspiritorical Cats**

Michael Gruber sat in the makeup chair as Maryanne dabbed his left eye with grey. Out of the right, he was watching Jacob and Alicia as the girl rucked through Jake's hair, picking out dried blood from where he'd cracked himself earlier on the pipe, chatting idly as if this were an everyday occurrence for her. Feeling only a little guilty, he eavesdropped on them.

"…turns out that I'm Bi." Jacob muttered as he looked up at Alicia's arms, trying vainly to see what she was doing. "Really? I had wondered. I couldn't find a site that agreed with anything, and you shut down your MySpace…I Googled everyone on the cast before I joined so I could get an idea of things, sooo…" Alicia said, grabbing a peroxide swap and dabbing her friend's head. "Yeah, I taught at this ballet school for a while, and the aunt of one of the girls came in for private lessons…her yoga instructor had died and she wanted to try something different…and, well, the next thing I know, I'm looking at sexy underwear to buy her for her birthday. Guess who the aunt was."

"Shelby."

"Bingo! Yeah…just goes to show you can't control or tell who you're going to fall in love with. John about had kittens when I told him. Ooh! No offence Etcy!" Jake yelled back and the yellow queen, who was helping Charlotte. Her daughter Viceverca was glued to her back, dead asleep. "None taken!" she smiled back.

"Well, as long as you're happy…"

"Thing is, I still, well, you know, like men, but, well, we manage that, but that's why Shells freaked when John grabbed my ass last week." Jacob said, a slight blush on his face.

"Please," Alicia laughed, drying Jake's hair roughly. "John grabs _everyone_'s ass. He's as bad as the cat he plays. There, all patched up. How the hell you did this…jeez…"

Michael chuckled quietly when Alicia squeaked as Tugger snuck behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against him. "I heard that." the big cat murmured in her ear, grinning wickedly "_and_ I can make you pay for it too." Alicia reared an eyebrow, looking back at him. "Really?" she smiled; scooting to the left, she twisted her arm behind him, grabbing a handful of _his_ ass as hard as she could and steered him around her. The shocked tom yelped and jumped awkwardly, his face winced up in pain. "How were you planning on doing that again?" Alicia giggled as he rubbed the sore spot on his butt.

Somehow managing to look suave as he did so, Tugger leaned back, putting an elbow on Michael's wigged head. "You'll have to stop that soon, you know, I'm starting to enjoy it."

"I'll tell Bomba. Her claws should make things interesting."

Tugger looked to the left and yelled "Coming, Munks!" before darting off.

Michael was laughing when a cell phone went off next to him. He snagged it, looking at the name on the I.D. "Cici, phone," he said as he tossed the thing at her "It's your sister." She caught it and flipped it open in one swift move, exchanging the usual pleasantries as she redid Jake's face. Michael was finishing his costume snap up when a yell greeted his ears.

"WHAT?! No, I don't understand. Yes, I'm fucking yelling! What the hell…Oh, I'm coming over there as soon as filming today's over! No, don't tell them, I want them to be surprised! Yeah, yeah, fine, yeah, bye!" Alicia slammed shut her phone and screamed at it, hurling it into the nearest wall. The old dinosaur didn't break, but Jake, Michael, and everyone else in the makeup room stared at her. Jake's face was half done.

"What's wrong?" Michael and Jake asked at the same time. Alicia turned to them, tears running down her face, her eyes livid. "I've gotta go talk to Andrew…I'm sorry…Maryanne, could you…" she trailed off, waving vaguely at Jacob's face. The brunette went to work immediately as Alicia left the room, everyone staring after her worriedly. "I need to quit playing secretary," Michael groaned, knowing nothing good would come of this.

Alicia stomped out through the set, running into Bryn as she stormed towards Andrew. "Hey!" the actor yelled "What the fuck's your problem, Connors? What's wrong with you?" Alicia rounded on him. "Bryn, I do not have time for your bullshit right now! Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, maybe when hell freezes over and you decide to grow a soul, but not NOW!" she stomped off, tears streaming down her face. Bryn followed her with his eyes. "Fine then, see if I ever ask what's wrong with you again. So much for being nice." he called after her.

Andrew Lloyd Webber saw the upset girl coming towards him and stood from his chair slowly. She was crying full tilt by the time she had reached him. Before she could say a word, the old playwright put an arm around her. "Miss Connors, what's the matter?"

"Mr. Webber, I-I…I'm not gonna ask for time off, but…but I'm so sorry, but I might have to come in late tomorrow…family matters…would you …could you please forgive me?"

Andrew saw how upset she was, and patted her on the back. "Whenever you feel like coming in tomorrow is fine with me. I'm sure Electra won't mind playing herself. Whatever is going on, I hope you sort through it okay, alright dear?"

"Thank you, Andrew."

"Just take care of yourself today, okay?"

"I will…thanks…"

Alicia grabbed her things and left the studio. John, Mistoffelees, Michael, and their counterparts surreptitiously peeped out of the door still wondering or just starting to wonder what was going on.

_ The Next Day _

Alicia was a demon. She went through every routine with military precision, never missing a step or a note. Every task she was given was taken care of in seconds, and even Bryn was polite to her when she went to grab everyone's lunch. Everyone on set figured out quick it was the wrong day to mess with her. She was scary when she was mad. Andrew watched her with concern, asking her closest friends on set what the matter was. None of them knew. She hadn't spoken a word all day.

During break, John and Tugger were lounging around, yapping about their favorite soap operas, when they heard a yell.

"Tugger!" came Alicia's voice as she came towards them. The two shot up, both thinking of the same plan to get their friend in a better mood.

"Yes?" they asked, looking around at her from behind and striking identical poses.

Alicia paused. Those two were next to impossible to tell apart when John was in costume, and Mistoffelees had glamoured Tugger earlier in the day to look more like he was in a costume. The girl groaned. "Hold on." she muttered. Putting a hand on either one's waist, she leaned between them, looking first at one's luscious rear and then the other's. The real Tugger was on the left.

"You," she pointed to Tugger "Go find Mistoffelees, we've kept missing each other all day, and I need to talk to him."

"Which one?"

"You know what, both. And you," she pointed at John "Gillian needs your help with something. Oh, and guys, thanks; that was cute." The first real smile showed up. It was small, but that was all the two had wanted.

The two smiled and darted off to do their respective favors. Tugger returned with the actor and the Jellicle. Jacob was in the middle of a diet coke, and Mistoffelees was idly juggling four balls of light. They sat down as they reached Alicia.

"Guys, I need to talk to you…um, Tugger…can I speak with them alone?"

"What? Oh, oh sure." Looking only slightly dejected, the big tom left. Alicia sighed, holding her head in her hands. "I am so sorry I'm even thinking of asking this. Oh, god…"

"Cici, what's the matter?" Jacob asked, leaning forward

"What's going on?" Mistoffelees asked at the same time. Alicia looked up at them both, her chin trembling. "You guys know how much I did…how hard I worked to get here, right?"

"Well, yeah. I believe we've both told you you were way too dedicated to this at one point." Jacob said. Alicia nodded. "You both know how much I want this. Between all my dance and theater classes and school, I can't pay my rent. My dad's been paying it…and now he…he…"

"Cici, what's happened?" Mistoffelees asked, concern thick in his voice. Alicia took the kerchief he conjured and wiped her eyes. She looked up at the both of them, her red eyes burning with indignation. "I went over to their place yesterday. They told me that unless I…unless I gave them a good reason as to why I was in this play, they'd stop paying."

"What!?" man and tom yelled in unison. "How could they?" "Don't they know what this means to you?"

"They don't understand," she laughed bitterly. "They never got it, and they thought I was stupid to draw out my Vet's college for this. Maybe I was, but this was…"

"This was your dream," Jacob said, understanding. "They should be proud of you, what you've done is astonishing, when you think of how many _lifelong_ dancers tried out for _any_ roll and didn't get in."

"They just don't get that…they wanted a _good_ reason…not some silly line about a dream."

"What did you tell them?" Mistoffelees wanted to know. Alicia blushed, holding her head and shaking it back and forth, unable to look at them. "That's why I didn't want to ask. _I told them I was dating either the understudy or the main actor for Mr. Mistoffelees_!"

Nonplussed, Mistoffelees sputtered "_Either_ the understudy or the main actor…How'd you get them to believe that?"

"I don't think I did. I acted like a flake…said you two were cousins…both had trick knees and kept hurting yourselves, so it all depended on what week it was…oh, god, I can't do this… I'm gonna have to quit the cast…get a part-time job…oh god…"

"Alicia, what do you need us to do?" Jake asked, feeling troubled for his friend. The blond laughed coldly, glaring at her knees.

"They want proof. They want me to bring someone over this weekend…it's my birthday…. I…I need one of you to pretend to be my boyfriend for the weekend." She shook her head "But I can't ask that of you guys. Damn, Jake, you're _married,_ And, Misto's not human…and I _had_ to say Mistoffelees, it was the only part other than Tugger they'd recognize. And my dad can spot a gay man a mile away, so John was out, and he'd shoot Tugger himself just for being Tugger…and…and…" she realized she was babbling, and crying, and shut up, jamming the handkerchief into her mouth and eyes as she let the tears come.

Two sets of arms wrapped themselves around her, and two heads rested on her shoulder and the top of her head as her friends held her. Jakes voice sounded in her ear. "I don't mind, and Shells would understand." "No." Alicia shook her head. "You're already into it because of John. No... I can't let you risk it with Shelby just for my stupid parents. Maybe…maybe Karl…or Fergus. They'd be able to pull off…"

"I'll do it" Mistoffelees said resolutely "It won't be too hard. I can Glamour myself to look human, and I'm straight, so you're dad can't get suspicious there. I'll pretend to be understudy for Jake. It's not like I haven't before."

Alicia twisted her neck to look at him. "But…Misto, you're a Jellicle…"

"So? Look, I'm not tied down, so there's no one to have to worry about a reaction from, I know all the moves, since they're _mine_, and I know Jake well enough to pull off being his cousin. Besides, you're my friend, Alicia. What good is that friendship if I can't help you out when you need it?" Alicia smiled as he took her hand and squeezed it. He whispered in her ear "Besides, I've seen how uncomfortable the human guys make you; at least with me, you know you'll be safe." The girl flushed, embarrassed he'd noticed that.

Jake rubbed her back until she calmed down, and Mistoffelees didn't leave her side until she had stopped crying completely. Andrew came backstage just as Alicia was getting up. "Are you alright, Miss Connors?" He asked. She beamed at him. "I'm fine now, sir. I just needed some reassuring friends near me."

The old director smiled. "Well, as long as everything is okay. You did well today. Keep up the good work."

"Thank you, sir."

Jacob left with Andrew, since one of the interviewers for the character commentaries was there today (hence all the Jellicles in Glamours) and wanted to snag him for a commentary bit. He hugged Cici goodbye.

"Alicia," Mistoffelees said, looking at her quizzically "Is there anything I need to know about your parents before we do this?"

"Um…not really. But we do have cats at the house. Are you sure a glamour will fool them?"

"No, but they'll see me as a fellow cat, and know me for a Jellicle, and respect me my due."

"Oh. Um…we have dogs too, big ones in the yard, and I sort of… made it a habit to introduce everyone to them. My parents'll think it's weird if I leave you out…"

"Oh…well, to fool them I might have to make the full switch over, but that spell's not super hard, since it's not permanent. Don't worry, Cici, you'll get to stay on the cast whether your folks like it or not."

"Thanks."

Tugger could not understand why Alicia had not picked him, and was being pouty and snide to Mistoffelees because of it. He was not used to being ineligible. Misto could not figure out how to explain it to his brother, and grew tired of his attitude. Munkustrap had to step in the middle of his younger brothers to keep the fight from coming to blows. Their counterparts finally managed to get all three of the brothers to understand the situation, but only with Alicia's help. Tugger pouted for the rest of the week, but understood. Mistoffelees couldn't suppress the tiny little beam of smugness that bubbled in his chest.


	5. Chapter 5, Fictorical Cats

**Chapter 5. Fictorical Cats**

Mistoffelees sat cross-legged in the front seat of Alicia's monstrous old V.W. van, picking up the recent smells of incense, and the ancient patchouli oil that always seemed to inhabit these vehicles. Smells of other things from the van's heyday, some awful, some wonderful, greeted his nose as he waited for the driver to hop back in. Alicia had said she was going to check the tire pressure. Mistoffelees knew she was losing her stomach on the side of the road. He wanted to check on her, but the look she'd given him told him it was better left alone. Awkwardly, he shuffled through Alicia's music selection. Oldies and generic rock, nothing really spectacular, though now that he knew how Alicia drove, he understood why. She was literally addicted to music, and if she was too into it, her attention suffered. He popped in a Beatles C.D. as Alicia got back in the car. She smiled at him, swishing her drink and spitting out the window as she started back on the highway. They had been driving for an hour, and they had three hours to go before they made it to Alicia's parent's place in the country.

At first, Mistoffelees had felt strange, riding in the car as a Jellicle, but it was two days till Halloween, so Alicia had insisted, just so she'd have someone to talk to who could talk back.

That first hour, they had just chatted about everyday on the set, nothing in particular. Mistoffelees pointed out how Bryn seemed to be getting more polite. Alicia said he was just bored, because she didn't react to him any more. After stopping at a gas station for lunch, they drove in silence for a while. During 'Hard Day's Night' Alicia turned to Mistoffelees, something obviously on her mind.

"Misto, I hate to ask…but it's been bothering me, and I don't really want to think of the current situation, so…what's the deal with Demeter?"

"What do you mean?" Mistoffelees asked, scratching his head. There were a lot of deals about his sister-in-law.

"Well," said the girl, looking uncomfortable as she leaned over the steering wheel, "I've noticed that whenever we're doing the Macavity bit she disappears, and the next time I see her she always looks really upset. I thought that whole her being scared of Macavity thing was just a stage bit to tell her and Bomba apart, but now…"

"Oh." Mistoffelees said, looking at the blue shag on the van floor. It wasn't really his story to tell, but she would probably find out eventually, since she and Demeter got on so well. "You don't have to say if you don't want to."

"No, you'd find out eventually. It's just that Dems is kind of sensitive about it."

"He raped her, didn't he?"

"No. No, that's not it. It's actually more sad than it is horrible. It's still horrible, but in a tragic way." Mistoffelees sighed and ran a hand over his ears. "Macavity's… well, he's insane, but he didn't always used to be. I guess you'd call it multiple personality disorder if he were human. He left the tribe, got kicked out, but came back as himself. He was just normal for a while. I wasn't even born yet, so I just go off what cats tell me. Well…Demeter had just entered queenhood, and she fell in love with him. Mac wanted to settle down, so they were mated at the ball the year he came back."

"Wait a minute. What about Munkustrap?"

"He's a couple of years younger than Demeter, so he wasn't fully grown then."

"Oh."

"Well, anyway, things got on well for a couple of years. They even had kits. A queen, then a tom. Everyone thought Mac might be okay, that Demeter might have calmed him down. I was just born, so father couldn't pay as close of attention to his grown son as many wanted him to." Mistoffelees said, a tinge of regret sticking to is words.

"What happened?" Alicia asked, unable to tear herself away from the tale, even though she knew it would not end well.

"One night, Macavity snapped. It never needed provoking, it just _happened_. He beat Demeter half to death and killed the older kit, the daughter. Then he just ran off. That's why Demeter gets upset. She still loves the part of him that was kind, and she knows it's still in him somewhere. She won't leave Munkus for him if he ever gets his mind back, but she does still love him. It's painful for her."

Alicia stared at him for a moment before remembering she was driving. She shook her head. "God, I can only imagine…I feel horrible for ever feeling sorry for myself, ever. Did their son turn out okay? I don't think I've ever heard even a rumor about that."

"He turned out fine. Demeter couldn't handle raising him, so Admetus' parents took him in. Plato doesn't know."

"It's Plato? But he's so…"

"Quiet? He didn't inherit whatever it was that's wrong with Macavity, thank the Everlasting cat. But don't say anything. He doesn't know. None of us younger ones do except me, and I only know because…well…I accidentally read Demeter's mind once, before I had a handle on my magic."

"Cat's got my tongue on a permanent basis, Misto. He won't find out from me."

They sat in silence for a time, Alicia fiddling with the crystals on her mirror and Mistoffelees catnapping at shotgun. Alicia wasn't sure what to think, but she forced herself to think about _something _just to keep from falling asleep at the wheel. She realized what Misto had told her was a deep secret, one that unless Demeter herself decided to tell, was never to reach the ears of any other, and Misto had told her with only a moment's hesitation.

She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt trusted. It felt strange. Most people figured because she acted flaky, she'd spill the minute someone asked her. Alicia knew how to keep a secret. She had to, with her brother Sheen being the biggest closet case in the state. She smiled at the thought of her brother and looked at his picture on the visor. He looked like her, only a lot scrongier. He tried to cover up everything by acting like a hippie. She wished he would just leave the closet and clean up. She wanted to set him up with John.

She looked over at the Jellicle in the passenger's seat. His whiskers twitched as he napped, and his tail flickered back and forth. He really did look a lot like Jake in the face, but she could tell the difference. He wasn't that much taller than she was, maybe 5'8" at the most, and he was small in cat form too. He really did have a dancers' body, but she'd seen him lift parts of the set that were at least fifty pounds heavier than himself, so she wasn't fooled by his size, she knew he was strong. The short fur of his coat showed off his frame wonderfully, and the Jellicle ruffs, as she called the thicker fur on his arms and legs, looked so much better on the actual cat than on an actor in legwarmer form. Alicia jumped as Misto's blue eye opened. "Somebody's watching me." he grinned, blinking slowly. Alicia blushed, realizing what she had been doing. '_He's a cat! _she yelled at herself. To Mistoffelees she said, "There's just something therapeutic about watching cat sleep, even if it is a humanoid talking cat that occasionally shoots lightning."

Mistoffelees grinned and flipped up in the chair, awake again.

"So, what's the story when we get to your place?" he asked, stealing a drink of her soda. She glanced over him as she flipped off some idiot in a Mercedes who cut her off.

"I told them your name was Michael. Michael Brent…it was just easier for me to remember. I couldn't run around calling you Misto all weekend. They already think I'm way too into the whole Cats thing. If only they knew…sorry. Um, anyway…we've been 'dating' since filming started. Um, I'd be forever in your debt if you didn't mention the Bryn thing to them."

"All right… and?"

"Yeah…um…you know how we all are on set, grabby and everything? We have to tone that down…way down. My dad will freak if he sees you acting like the cat you are around me. Just, you know…act like you would if I were sick, and you didn't want to catch it or something."

"So, just, like hand holding and stuff like that?"

"Yeah, that should work."

"Done and done. Anything else?"

"Yeah," Alicia said, curiosity finally getting the better of her "How the heck are you gonna fool my dogs that you're not a cat?"

"Oh, that's easy. I'm going to cheat!" Misto reached over and pulled a hair off Alicia's head. "Owch!" she groused, rubbing the spot. "Forgive me, and observe."

Out of the corner of her eye, Alicia watched the road. The rest of her attention was on Mistoffelees. Wrapping the hair around his hand, he made a series of complicated movements and said something Alicia didn't understand. Before her eyes, he began to change. A slight blue glow misted over his fur, and the white began to disappear. The ruffs on his limbs shrank away, and his gold eye turned blue as well. Then, everything changed again. His white face grew darker, the rest of him lighter. His ears seemed to trail down the side of his head and shrink, and slowly, a pair of jeans, black jacket, white turtleneck and shoes began to materialize around him. His tail and whiskers disappeared, and in his black hair, a patch that looked frosted the same color as Alicia's blond locks appeared dead center.

In her passenger seat sat not Mistoffelees, but Michael Brent. The transformed tom grinned. His teeth were still a little long, but that would go unnoticed. He pointed at the blond patch in his hair as Alicia tried to drive and look at him at the same time. "I've glamoured myself, and this little bit here makes my scent similar to yours. Your dogs won't only not know I'm a cat, they'll love me! So, what do you think of the look?"

Alicia stared straight at the road. The glamour Mistoffelees was wearing was, for lack of a better word, _hot_! He looked just enough like Jake to pass for his cousin. His face was finer set, and his eyes were the same gorgeous cat blue that they were when he was in full Mr. Mistoffelees form. The turtleneck made him look not only like a theatre buff, but like someone her dad would have trouble finding fault with, someone respectable; and it showed off his chest fantastically. "I approve." she grinned.

"Good. I'd hoped the one I normally use would work."

"Wait, what? What do you mean, normally use?"

"Oh…well, some of us have to go human every now and again to raise money for the junkyard, to keep it going and keep people out of it. I'm one of them, and the one running the spells on the rest. Normally I go out as a freelance computer programmer."

"You're joking" Alicia said, an eyebrow trying valiantly to disappear into her hairline. "No, seriously. I cheat, though, if it makes you feel any better. I don't know the first thing about computers except what Jake's shown me, and he's no whiz at them. I just use spells to make them do what I want. The code shows up later, after I'm long gone."

Alicia said nothing, only shaking her head, giggling silently at the craziness of it all. The insane picture of Tugger in a White Castle outfit crossed her mind, and she burst out laughing. Mistoffelees decided not to say anything.

They made it to her parents' place at about seven in the evening, just as it was getting dark. As Alicia parked, five enormous white dogs mobbed the van. Mistoffelees yelped and flew out of the passenger's seat, into the back, forgetting himself. Embarrassed, he climbed back into his seat as Alicia got out of the car. The five monsters knocked her over, showering her in doggy-slobber kisses. Misto felt his lip curl in distaste. He had no problem with dogs in general, they were just so messy. He cautiously got out of the van, and heard a sharp noise as Alicia grabbed five collars in a maneuver he couldn't see. Five sets of pale eyes looked at him hostilely. Alicia smiled as she introduced the glaring beasts.

"The little one's Sheik, the one next to her is Hera. The two with brown patches are Thor and Minsc, and this guy," she said nodding to the largest of the lot. Beneath the glare he had a dopey, friendly look to his face. "This is Beast. They won't bite, Mist-Michael, as long as I've got them. Come over and say hi."

Mistoffelees noticed that two people had left the house, so he edged over to the dogs cautiously, extending his left hand for them to sniff. His cheat worked, and the dogs immediately began to jump at him and lick at his hands and face. Despite himself, he laughed.

"Well, I see the dogs like him," came a voice. It was Alicia's father, a bear of a man with brown hair and dark eyes. His wife stood beside him. She was a shorter, thin woman with a dark head of hair greying at the temples. "This must be Michael," she said, forcing a smile. Misto understood why, from what Cici had told him. Cici brushed the mud from her tunic and leggings, teasing a dog with a legwarmer. She looked like a dancer, and the reminder probably didn't sit well with her parents. She leapt over the dogs to greet her parents, throwing her arms around them before grabbing Misto by the wrist and introducing him, a sugary forced smile plastered on her face.

"Yeep, this is Michael. Michael, this is my dad, Roger Connors, and my mom, Marisa."

"Hello, Mr. Connors, Mrs. Connors," Mistoffelees said politely, looking up at his friend's father. Even if he hadn't been lying to the man on ten different levels, he would have felt nervous around him. Mr. Connors glared at him suspiciously before taking his hand and squeezing. Mistoffelees did his best not to wince as he shook hands back. "Welcome to our home, Michael. As long as you show everything the proper respect, there won't be any problems."

"Yes sir." Mistoffelees said, stretching his fingers back out. This weekend was not going to be fun.

The house was nice. Big, but not too much, and nondescriptly decorated. The cats, two mixes of fluffy and nondescript breeding, took to Mistoffelees immediately, talking to him and generally making nuisances of themselves as Alicia helped her mom set up the dinner table. Misto absentmindedly petted the grey tabby as Alicia's father stared him down, studying him and eyeing his hair in a strange way.

"You gay or something?" the older man asked. Misto looked up from the cat. "No, sir."

"Bi, then?"

"No, sir, I'm straight."

"Then what's with that hair?"

"Oh, the frosting? That…That's just what happens when there's a prank happy gay man wondering around the set and you fall asleep in the makeup chair." Misto said, thinking on his toes, knowing that John might actually do that to someone. Alicia's father squinted at him as they walked over to the table and sat down. "So you're straight, then?"

"Yes, sir."

For a few minutes, they sat, staring at each other across the table, edgily eating their dinners. Mr. Connors spoke up again.

"How old are you?"

"32," Mistoffelees said, seeing no real reason to lie about his age. "So you're 6 years older than Alicia. Tell me, Mr. Brent, what exactly are your intentions toward my daughter?" Mistoffelees floundered for words as Alicia yelled "DAD!" through a mouthful of food. Her father looked over at her. "I just want to know, to make sure you're safe, honey."

"Uhg, Mom, can't you make him stop? Dad, you do this with everyone! That's why I've had so few boyfriends. I'm scared to bring anyone over, for fear your gonna scare them away."

"Honey, it's my job as your father to make sure you're taken care of."

"I'm 26 tomorrow. And I won't _have_ anyone to take care of me if you keep chasing them off!"

Mistoffelees sat quietly and munched on his fish, the flush he felt creeping over his face making him feel even more uncomfortable. He could tell this was an old argument that he had no part in until someone said his name. Alicia's mother just rubbed her temples and sighed, looking over at him apologetically and shaking her head.

"Alicia, I've protected you since you were a little girl…"

"And I appreciate it, but I can take care of myself now, Dad. I'm not wholly socially pathetic."

"I just want to make sure no one's going to take advantage of my little girl."

Alicia shot an apologetic look Misto's way before she said "He's a theatre nerd, Dad, and I was in the Marines for four years. I think I can take him if he does something stupid, which he won't, 'cause he's not like that."

Mr. Connors glanced over at Mistoffelees and turned to his daughter. "You've only known him for a month and a half. How can you be sure?"

"Because…" she faltered. The lie might start to unravel if she weren't careful. "He's a good man, Dad. He's decent and kind and he'd never hurt anyone if he could avoid it. He's the nicest person I've met in years, and we're closer than I am with most of my old friends. Definitely closer than anyone from the military."

"Oh, Really?" Mr. Connors said, leaning back in his chair, crossing his arms and glaring at Mistoffelees, who unconsciously sank down in his chair, a tiny bit of magic ready to go if he needed it. "And just how _close_ are you?"

Alicia's eyes grew wide when she realized how what she had said had sounded coming out of her mouth. It was true, they were close friends, but her father had heard otherwise. Mistoffelees shot upright and turned a furious red. Alicia backpedaled, holding up her hands. "It's not like that. Michael's been the perfect gentleman."

"And what do you mean by that?" Alicia's mother cut in, staring first at her daughter and then turning to study Mistoffelees. Alicia turned the same shade of red as Misto, not believing her parents and what she was going to say next. Throwing her hands down, the girl burned holes in the table cloth as she spit, "We've only been to second base! And it was his idea to go slow, so there, are you happy now!?"

"Not entirely, but I'll let it go. For now." Mr. Connors said.

The rest of the meal passed in awkward conversation stilted along by Marisa. Mistoffelees explained away the understudy confusion and told them when he wasn't in theatre he worked with computers, which was sort of true. Alicia's brother Sheen, a purposefully grungy man who smelled of other men and was obviously trying to hide it, came in midway through the meal and effectively took the conversation off of Misto and Alicia. The Jellicle had never been so glad to see a human.

Mistoffelees got sequestered to the couch that night, and had to put a sleeping spell on Alicia's parents so _he_ could sleep. The Glamour wouldn't work when he was unconscious.

The next day was Alicia's birthday. The family went out to dinner at a local Italian restaurant. It was an awkward dinner. Misto found himself sandwiched between the siblings Connors, including Kiki, Alicia's adopted Asian sister. He and Sheen got along well, and Kiki seemed all right, but it was awkward. Alicia put on her best face for her family, accepting their gifts gratefully.

Kiki had gotten her a large stack of Manga, and Sheen produced a huge set of oil paints from out of nowhere. Her parents gave her a small topaz ankle bracelet. Mistoffelees had to run out to Alicia's van to conjure something he had left at Jake's place. He returned with two boxes. In one was a lime green netbook with the best hard drive and memory the cast had been able to band together for, and two box seat tickets to Phantom of the Opera. Almost everyone loved the kooky little understudy, it seemed. Alicia beamed when she saw them. The smaller of the two boxes was wrapped in black, and Alicia tore off the paper slowly. Inside lay a pair of satin black ballet slippers, with white and blue and white and gold laces. Only Alicia understood the reference to Mistoffelees himself, and knew he'd made these with magic. She would ask him what they did later. Right then, she was too busy giving him a hug.

Sheen and Kiki approved of the gift, but Misto felt Alicia's father's eyes boring holes into his back. Dodging out of the hug, he smiled at her awkwardly. She blazed a huge, friendly smile at him, and set the shoes with the rest of her presents under her chair.

"Let's see you wear 'em, sis" Sheen said, earning a glare from their father. Cici moved to get them, but Misto, seeing an opportunity to do something that would help her keep up the ruse, bent down to do it for her.

"What are you doing?" she whispered at him frantically. "This is innocent enough your dad can't say anything, but it looks like something a dance geek boyfriend would do. Just go with it."

"What do they do, anyway?"

"What makes you think they do anything?" he said, finishing the laces on the first slipper.

"Misto, it's _you_."

"Point taken. They give you perfect balance, and let your legs move however you want them to without pain. Pretty much, I just gave you cat legs."

"Thank you." Alicia said. She was touched. Even for a ruse birthday gift to keep up a lie to her parents, he thought of her. If only he were human.

Alicia stood, testing her weight on the shoes, and going on Pointe. Forgetting herself, she glided to the small dance floor. She had worn tights and tunic again that day, and with the slippers, everyone in the restaurant could tell the petite girl was a dancer. She combined several of her Cats routines, including the hard part of the Invitation, and part of the Conjuring Turn. The music of the band unconsciously changed to something slower, and Alicia stood oblivious to people as she went through every difficult movement, every formerly impossible step. She felt only slightly letdown knowing it wasn't really her, but the shoes, but she knew she was at a level she would get to eventually, and she felt like giving her folks a taste of the _real_ reason she was on the cast of Cats.

The crowd cheered when she ended her impromptu recital, and Alicia blushed. Misto smiled, glad to see his work do some good.

That night, Mistoffelees burned his whiskers lighting a candle. He hid in Alicia's bathroom to inspect the damage, but forgot to lock the door. Alicia walked in on him with his face in Jellicle form, and couldn't help but giggle at how lopsided he looked with his whiskers missing. He was in the process of regrowing them when the door swung open again.

"What's going on in he-ahrg!" Her father's voice boomed.

Alicia sprang to action as soon as she heard the hinge creak. She grabbed Misto by the face and crushed her mouth over his, using the small step next to her tub to get up higher than him, and shielding his cat's face with her hair. A tiny jolt passed through her lips as she kissed him. A blue and gold set of eyes strained as wide as they could go staring at her in shock before Mistoffelees felt the swish of the door and understood. By the time Alicia jerked away from his face, yelling "DAD!", he was thoroughly out of breath, and had on Michael's face again.

Mistoffelees had to endure two hours of glares from both Alicia's parents before they went to bed. He once again called the couch home and set up the sleeping spell. Alicia crept to his side at around midnight.

"Sorry about that…you know…what I did earlier. Dad would have seen you otherwise, and I…"

"It's okay, Cici." Misto said, nudging her shoulder with his head. "I know it was just a fake-out. At least I know now how willing you are to protect the Jellicle secret. I thought your father was going to punch me for a second there, though."

"He might have, if I'd let him alone with you for a minute. He's way too overprotective."

"I've noticed. What was the deal with him asking me if I were gay? Isn't' your brother…"

"Shhhh! Sheen's a closet queen; it's a secret. Dad really isn't against gays, but…I tried the whole bring-home-a-gay-friend-pretend tactic once and he's been suspicious ever since."

"Oh."

"Yeah…look, I just wanted to apologize. And thank you, for the shoes. I can't believe you did that for me." She said, leaning on him and using his shoulder for an arm rest.

"Well, you _are_ my friend, and I know how much this all means to you. Uh, those slippers do do one other thing."

"What?" Alicia asked, a little wary. Mistoffelees had a weird streak in him, and it came out in the weirdest places.

"The more you use them, the more your actual skills will improve. It'll just happen without pain and without you risking ripping a tendon out. No more fooling government surgeons, okay?"

"Okay." she agreed happily. "'Night Misto." she said, going back to her room. Unaware of it, she stroked his ears as she walked off, hitting a sensitive spot that sent a tingle down his spine. He shook it away quickly. "'Night Cici."


	6. Chapter 6, Erratical Cats

**Chapter 6. Erratical Cats **

_(In which I throw together a bunch of random stuff for a filler chapter.)_

John Partridge lounged in the makeup chair, reading out loud an article in a skin magazine, trying unsuccessfully to make Charlotte blush as the older woman tied back his hair. The Sherman Tank behind him yanked on a lock and laughed. "You're going to have to do better than that to embarrass me, John. I think it's working for Maryanne though." The brunette in question was a shade of violet that John was previously unaware people could turn. He sighed and put the magazine down, and looked around boredly.

Ken Page and the real Old Deuteronomy, who rarely made it to the set, were glancing over in his direction, shaking their heads and chuckling in an annoyingly knowing way. Etcetera, who seemed to have found a talent with makeup, was wrestling a wig onto Jo Gibb's head, while Jake sat flopped upside down in the opposite chair. Michael and Skimbleshanks were arm wrestling as Tumblebrutus and Admetus watched. On the set, he could see Jellylorum, Jennyanydots, and Elaine watching over the passel of kittens that were roaming around backstage. Mr. Webber was leafing through something, looking quite pleased with himself. The real Grizabella was hanging off the old chair, flirting mercilessly with Tony, just to watch his reactions. John was _bored._

"Where's Cici and Misto?" he yelled at Jake across the room. The younger man vaulted upright, shaking his head clear before he answered. "They'll be here soon. Cici just called me. Apparently her parents were being difficult."

"Ah. I never realized how boring it is around here without those two around. At least her folks left her alone, let her stay on. I was prepared to whore myself out to help her pay her rent." Michael snorted from his arm wrestling. "You'd do that anyway, you man-slut. You just want an excuse." John puckered his lips at him, making kissing noises. Skimble laughed and lost his concentration. And a long argument ensued as to whether John counted as Michael's handicap or not.

Alicia burst through the doors with a loud, "Hello!" tossing her bags into the pile and cartwheeling across the set. She even waved at Bryn, who gave her a confused sneer. John and Jake popped out of the makeup room to say hi. She sped over to them and leapt on them both, trapping them in a bear hug, yelling "I'm Home!" John untangled himself and pointed at her, "No, hon, you were there yesterday." he laughed.

"Wrong. This set is more like my home than that place."

"That bad, huh?" Jake said as Alicia took up her usual spot in the chairs, working deftly on Tommi's Coricopat face. "Uhg, worse. Worst family visit, ever. I think Misto was about ready to marry my brother out of thanks, just for showing up and taking my dad's glare off him for a while!"

"I wouldn't go _that_ far." Mistoffelees laughed as he popped into the room. Half of the people jumped.

"So, what was the deal, they give you shit or something?" Tommi asked, his eyes closed as Alicia painted them. "Yeah. They're always so suspicious of anybody I bring home. I just don't date anymore…it's too much damn drama."

"Well, lass, maybe they're just concerned." Skimbleshanks said, knowing the concern he'd had for his own daughters. Alicia shook her head as she put Tommi's wig on him and sent him out of the chair, "No, Skimble. They just …I don't know. It's just a pain in the ass that I can't do what I want with my life because they don't approve." "She's right. They're twelve times worse than you and Jenny have ever been." Mistoffelees said.

"Oh, well, at least you got it over with," Jason (Alonzo) said as he put his own face on. "You get to stay on the cast, right?"

"Well, yeah."

"And, look on the bright side of things," Admetus cut in, propping his elbows on Misto's shoulders. "Mistoffelees finally got himself a girlfriend."

Alicia blushed and snorted with Phyllida at the face Mistoffelees made. The black cat dodged out from under the grey's arms, and with a quick word, a torrent of water crashed down on Admetus' head. The water went away with a flick of Misto's tail, but Admetus sat on the floor, sopping wet. "Mew!" he groused, forcing everyone to laughter. Charlotte threw him a towel before Misto took pity on him and dried him off. Phyllida leaned over, asking Skimbleshanks "Are they always like this?"

"Only since they could walk, lass, only since they could walk." he laughed, going back to arm-wrestle with Michael again.

"Well, anyway," Gruber called over the din, since he hadn't been able to get a word in edgewise "I think everybody here's glad you get to stay, Cici."

"Thanks," Alicia said as she finished Phyllida's face. She was immediately thrust into a chair by Charlotte. As she was being worked on, she saw the Rum Tum Tugger cart wheeling across the set, the silliest look on his face. "What's the matter with him?" she called back at Jake. "Not a clue. I think he got into John's Redbull again."

"Not a chance, love," the man in question said as he fiddled with the boots that gave the Tugger costume such big feet, "I locked it up after last time." Alicia suppressed a shudder at the thought of Tugger hopped up on Redbull and Misto laughed.

"It's Halloween," the Jellicle said. "It's the one day we get to run around like idiots and not care about getting caught. I'd almost forgot."

Tugger wasn't the only cat excited about the prospect of being able to run around in the daylight hours. The set buzzed with feline energy, and Alicia barely escaped getting run over by a pack of kittens running past the booths, Jellylorum hot on their tails. Alicia jumped as Mistoffelees materialized next to her. "They're all excited about the ball too, you know."

"I thought you did that in summer?" she said, fanning herself. Mistoffelees shook his head. "The Jellicle Moon shows up at different times of the year. We just sort of automatically know. It'll be here next month this year. We'll start thinning out for a while, routines and stuff, but the whole cast is invited to come."

Alicia let his words sink in, her eyes bright and wide. "You mean we all get to…and we…" Misto smiled, he'd wanted to tell her personally, just so he could see her reaction. "Yep, all of it, Heaviside Layer and everything."

Alicia had never thought she would actually get to see a Jellicle Ball, and a bubble of happiness sat down heavily in her chest and determinedly stayed there. She couldn't believe her luck. Every fight with her parents and every minute of pain during training suddenly seemed a hundred times more worth it. She grinned hugely and hugged Mistoffelees, who didn't react quite as fast as he thought he should. She beamed at him, before pulling away, gasping "I have to talk to Tugger! Sorry!"

The Rum Tum Tugger was in the middle of a handstand, trying with difficulty to see though his mane, when he saw feet. Gracefully flipping forward and coming up standing, he looked down at Alicia. "Oh, Hi." he said in a halfhearted sort of way. Alicia smiled and took his wrist. "Tugs, can I talk to you…please?"

"Sure" he shrugged offhandedly, following her, his hyper buzz gone. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Tugger, look, I know you're not used to being shot down, and I know I hurt your feelings. But for one thing, this was just for fake, I wasn't really going out with either of you…and for another, I didn't want you getting hurt."

Tugger laughed a little bitterly "You didn't do too good a job with that last one, Ally."

"Tugger, please, you're my friend. I did consider you, but, well, you can ask Misto. He was the perfect gentleman and my dad still almost punched him at least twice."

"I could have done that. Been good, I mean. I do know how to behave."

"I know, but you can't lie to yourself, and your real personality is just too big to hide. You're…well, you're a playboy, and my dad…he's really overprotective…oh, I don't know how to explain it…you don't have kids, do you?"

Tugger looked at the understudy in Electra's face, and smiled. "Actually, I do." he saw that this took her by surprise, and his smile widened "A little queen, with Bomba. She'll be two in a couple of months."

Alicia smiled back, knowing what to say, now. "Okay. And you love her to pieces, don't you?"

"I'd kill for her."

"Well, what happens in ten or twelve years when she brings home some tom she wants you to meet?"

"I'd beat the stuffing out of the little sot."

"Why?"

"'Cause I know what I'm like, even now, and I'm playin' it safe and assuming he's…the same…way…" Tugger stammered to an end, realizing the truth. "That's it, isn't it? You're dad's just like me, isn't he?"

"Well…just in that regard." Alicia grinned "Personality wise, I like you a lot more. So are we friends again?"

"Of course."

Tugger leaned forward and gave Alicia a gigantic hug, his mane making her sneeze. The big cat laughed and got up as he heard the choreographer yelling for her. "You'd better get going," he said. "Oh, and…I'm back!" Alicia squeaked as he copped a feel and ran off, his insane grin forcing her to smile, even as she lobbed a soda can at his head.

_On the set_

"Turn, turn, left kick, plié, back, back, right kick, plié, Connors, step back into time, turn, drop, claws out, circle round!" Gillian instructed over the singing of the actors and the music in the background. No one was in costume, just wigs and face paint, and they were trying for a flawless routine. Alicia kept tripping up on 'statistical cats' and had trouble keeping it up. She'd never noticed in the video how up front Electra really was, at least not until Jo kicked her in the chest on accident when Cici mis-stepped and Jo thought she was a row back. Gillian shook her head, clapping tersely. "Five minutes everyone. We'll pick up at 'practical cats.'"

Alicia flinched as Jo apologized and ran off to grab a soda. Bryn gave her a dirty look and sneered, and Gillian came up. The old choreographer put an arm around Alicia's shoulders. "Connors," she began, "you did so well the other day when you were upset. You seem even more distracted now, and if you don't pull it back into shape, we'll have to bring out one of the other girls."

Alicia blanched, and hung her head. "I know, Gillian. I don't know what's wrong with me. Maybe I need to go get in a fight."

"Now, don't be that way. I didn't mean it like that. Just get the focus back like you had then. Get pissed at whatever it was, and use your anger. I don't want to have to lose you, you've too much potential."

"Thank you…I'll try." Alicia said as she went off to distract herself. She waved at Munkustrap, who was tossing one of the kittens, a tiny calico queen, up and down as she shrieked with laughter. Not paying attention, she ran head on into a cat with a pile of costumes going to the drycleaners. She couldn't tell which one it was until she went to help them up. It was one of the Asparagus's, she couldn't tell which.

"Ah, 'ello then, I was looking for you." the older tom grinned as he took her hand "Jellylorum wants to know if you'll help with the kittens tonight when we take them out for Halloween, and Wendy's (_costume supervisor_) looking for all of these to be washed."

"Ah," Alicia said, looking over the monstrous pile of Lycra and limb warmers. "Yes, to Jelly, And _Damn_, is this every costume we have?"

"Seems that way, don't it? Here, I can take half of them."

"Oh, thank you. God, you wouldn't think a bunch of dancers could raise that much of a stink or sweat so much!"

Asparagus laughed and wrinkled his nose as he walked with her. She yelled across the set at the actress who played Cassandra. "Rebecca, I love you to death, but if you don't quit the garlic diet I'll kill you!" Rebecca stuck out her tongue and went back to talking with Femi.

"So which one are you anyway?" Alicia asked Asparagus. "I never see either of you around set much, and you look the same age, now. Are you just Gus, or old Gus or what? I know you're brothers, but it's confusing."

"Ah, I'm the younger one. Call me Perry. Whoa, easy there!" He jumped out of the way of Pouncival and Admetus as they chased each other around the set. "Anyhoo…" the older tom laughed, opening the door to outside with his tail, "you can tell us apart by our chins, more white on Gus's. Oh, and our eyes, there's more white around mine, see?"

"Oh, I see now." Alicia said as she loaded her half of the costumes in her van. She'd drive them out at lunch. "So, how's it work out that you two got the same name? I thought that was a big Jellicle no-no."

"Ah, blame Gus f'r that one. Our mum was an initiate, used to be a true cat, but the tribe accepted her in, once a Jellicle, always a Jellicle and what not…anyhow…Gus went missin' for about ten years when he was fifteen, I come along five years later, and Mum's so happy havin' another son she just ignores the rule, really didn't know any better."

"Where was Gus the whole time?"

"Where else? " Perry grinned, thinking it funny "Traveling theatre group."

"Of course." Alicia grinned. They went back inside, laughing over the irony of it when Asparagus threw a violent coughing fit. Alicia thumped his back, and while the tom tried to hide it, she saw the blood in his palms and at his mouth before he could wipe it away. "What's wrong?" the girl asked, panic lacing her voice. Perry grinned resignedly. "Ah, my girl, there's nothing you can do for it. Don't worry yourself."

"You cough up blood and tell me not to worry? What's the matter?"

"Heh heh. Ah, bein' a cat has it's downfall sometimes. Jellicles aren't supposed to get normal cat diseases, but here I am with Feline Leukemia, can you believe it?"

"My god, have you…do you need…is there anything I can do?"

"Nah" Asparagus said, waving her off good naturedly, licking the last of the blood from his hands "My owners are getting me treated, and Mistoffelees and old Deuteronomy's magics are keeping it under control. I'll last a few more years before I need the Layer yet, or I hope so anyway. But if not, well, I've had a good life."

"You're so calm about it" Alicia marveled

"It's not a cat's nature to worry over what they can't change. We just contemplate every outcome and continue to do what makes sense."

"Well, you're all more sensible than people, then. Um…" Alicia ended lamely, not sure what to say next.

"Gillian probably wants you back now. It was nice talking with you, miss Connors. The other cats were right about you. Now go on, and don't worry your pretty little head over an old tom like me."

Her abrupt concern for Asparagus gave Alicia something to be upset about, and she focused on that during the routine, which she got perfect, only managing to overextend her leg, which no one noticed until she limped away when they were done and could finally feel the pain. She slipped into the shoes Misto had made for her and sighed as the pain ebbed away. Andrew blew a whistle somewhere on the set, and the actors all went running, still in Cat mode, to sit at his feet. The older gentleman grinned, before going over a list he had.

"Things are going fairly according to schedule, and myself and the others on the head crew have decided who gets what parts in the other five features we're doing."

"Yes!" Drew, Tommi and Frank shouted in unison. They'd been looking forward to the fan stories the most. Andrew cleared his throat. "All right, just to clear the air, Ken is staying as Old Deuteronomy, and Elaine gets to keep Griz, but most of these you'll be in the 'Jellicle Songs' outfit. Now, in the 'Artificial 9 lives' bit, John gets Tugger."

"Of course," groused Karl, hating how short he was. Andrew continued "We want Fergus to do Munkustrap for this one, need him to look more like a cop, and Veerle gets the Demeter role. Rose stays as Bombalurina, but Susie takes up Griddlebone's place, Drew stays as Mungojerrie, Phyllida gets Rumpleteazer, Michael gets to be Macavity in this one, and we want Karl for Mistoffelees."

Karl did a goofy backflip and stuck his tongue out at Jacob, who shoved him playfully and listened. "Now for the sequel that I need to rename, everyone gets to keep the parts they have now, though I want to see the two Jos and Cici for a role if Leah Sue isn't back by then." Andrew went on. "Now, in the Episodes of Jellicle Lives, everyone keeps their roles, _initially_. I want to run through it once, just to see, before I make any judgments. For the 'Tug My Heartstrings,' well, I'd like for everyone to keep their parts, but it'd be an issue with Shelby, so Tommi and Jake get to switch places."

"Wait, what?" Tommi croaked. That had been one of the ones he'd actually read. "You mean I have to make out with…?" he stammered, pointing at John, who winked

and blew a kiss at the actor. "I'm not gonna hurt you, Cori-boy-I'm taken, remember?"

Tommi sat down, his face red, but sort of glad he'd been picked for one of the harder roles. "But for the follow-up, with the female Mistoffelees, I'd like Miss Connors for that part."

"Huh?" Alicia's jaw dropped "Well, I was going to give the part to Phyllda, originally, but I figured with as close as you are to Jacob and Mistoffelees, and those two maned idiots, that you'd be the better fit for it." Andrew said, smiling good naturedly as John fluffed an imaginary mane, pretending to be hurt. "Are you serious, Andrew? I'm not that great a dancer."

"Read the script, dear, there's not much dancing in this one. Of course, if you'd rather not…"

"No, no, I'll do it, you just surprised me."

"Alright then, moving on… the last one, that horror story…yes, everyone keeps their parts in that one, but…is anybody here good with digital editing? If not, you're all going to have to go anorexic for a few weeks."

Mistoffelees popped up behind Andrew's shoulder, causing several startled yells. The black cat gazed at the script for a second, wrinkling his nose. "Well, it's well written enough…horrible event wise, but well written…I guess I could hex the computers for you."

"Mistoffelees, lad, you are a lifesaver." Andrew chuckled, fanning his face with the stack of papers "Now stop flickering about before you give this old man a heart attack. Now, any other orders of business?" He asked, turning to the actors. "Bryn's still an ass." John snickered, earning a glare.

"Yes, well, there's nothing I can do about that one. Anyone else…with something legitimate before I sic Gillian back on the lot of you?"

Alicia stood up, a bit embarrassed. "Okay…first off, thanks everyone, for my birthday. I love the netbook. Andrew, thank you, especially, for your gift." She stopped to wink slyly at Mistoffelees, tapping her foot inconspicuously. "Now, second off, I have two box tickets for 'Phantom' and need someone to go with me."

"What night?" Susie asked, checking her planner

"Saturday."

"I'm out, love" John said "Date that night, and Jon will hack off my feet if I cancel."

"I'm out too…Shelby's still mad at me because of Grabby John back there."

Michael shot Cici an apologetic look. "I'm free, and I'd love to go, but I have a restraining order on the guy who plays Erik"

"What, seriously? _You_ have a restraining order? Mister Responsible?"

"It's against him, not me…ass broke my nose four months ago 'cause he didn't get my role."

"Ouch."

Before anyone else could say anything, "Ooh, 'Phantom' tickets!" came Tugger's voice as he snuck up to the patch of actors. "I'll go. I've been wanting to see it, but Pops won't let me out of the junkyard by myself anymore."

"That's because you got yourself plastered last time, you furry git!" Mistoffelees called, sending a ripple of giggles through the crowd. Tugger glared at him before turning to Alicia, doing his best pity-the-kitty face. "Oh, alright…but you can't go looking like that. You have to go looking human." Alicia conceded, throwing up her hands.

"Fine, but we'll have to sneak 'Mister-Fleas' in, the Glamour tends to wear off faster on me."

"Okay." Came Cici's and Misto's voices at once. "And don't call me Mister-Fleas, or I'll tell everyone just _why_ there are so many dye boxes in the junkyard."

"Grrr."

The brothers fake glared at each other as the actors dispersed, snickering..

_Halloween with Kittens_

"But I don't wanna be a cockroach!" Viceverca whined as Etcetera adjusted her costume. "Now, VeeCee, you have to have on some sort of costume."

"But why can't I be a cat? Uncle Tugger's going as himself! It's not fair! And Cockroaches are icky!"

"Well, Uncle Tugger's a bit older than you, isn't he? When you're Ball age, you can be whatever you want, but this year…" Etcetera was cut off as Cici, Mistoffelees, and the uncle in question turned the corner. "So, are we all set, Midgets?" Tugger grinned, getting on a knee and getting mobbed by kittens. A little orange queen that looked suspiciously like Skimbleshanks nodded "Yes?" Tugger said. She shook her head "No? You've confused me, now, Falli."

"Viceverca's bein' a mouse about her costume." said an older tomkit splattered with grey patches.

"Now, is that true, VeeCee?" Tugger said, looking at the little queen in mock severity. "But roaches are icky, and I was a roach last year and…and…"

"Watch this," Misto whispered to Alicia, nudging her in the ribs.

"I'm kinda surprised with how good he is with kids."

"Just watch."

"Well now" Tugger began, standing and picking the little queen up by her arm pits, "Roaches _are_ icky…let's see, what else is there…I know, what about a spider?"

"Ewww!"

"No…hmmm…a rat?"

"I'm not lunch, uncle Tugger."

"Mmm…no again…I got it! How about, um…butter?"

"Butter?" Viceverca and Etcetera repeated, sure Tugger had lost his mind. With a wink to Misto, he nodded. "Yeah, Butter. You know, shows up in summer, flaps around all wings and colors, likes flowers a lot."

Viceverca giggled, "You're silly. Those are butter_flies._"

"Oh, right, _butterflies_! Where _is_ my brain? Well, do you wanna be a butterfly?"

"Ooh, all blue and red and shiny?" Viceverca's eyes got big, and her rear end wiggled with excitement. "Yes yesyesyes yes! Mom, pleeeease, can I Mom, can I can I can I?"

Etcetera sighed. "Oh, all right." she grinned at the three and winked. Mistoffelees rolled his arms and sent a shower of light over the kits, shouting "Presto!" as their costumes changed. Viceverca had gigantic multicolored butterfly wings, the other kittens were indistinguishable from human children in costume. A few seams appeared in Etcetera's fur, and she looked like a cosplayer of herself. Alicia was in her homemade Mr. Mistoffelees outfit, which had earned the real one some teasing until she showed Tugger the static electricity rigs she'd built in, which shut the teasing up rather quickly.

"So, Misto, where's your costume?" Alicia asked. "It's going to be weird to have two of you."

"I've got it right here." Misto smirked, pulling an oversized red and white hat from out of nowhere, plopping it on his head. Alicia just looked at him, deadpan. "You're joking? 'The Cat in the Hat?' Seriously?" Mistoffelees gave her a goofy smile and hopped away as she whipped her tail at him. Tugger just laughed.

They were joined soon after by Jellylorum and Bombalurina, who handed Tugger a small red, black, and gold kitten with an adorable white face, who was fast asleep. "Your year this year," she said before kissing his nose and sashaying away. Tugger followed her with his eyes, a lopsided grin plastered to his face. Etcetera bumped him with her rear. "Oh, would you quit mooning and ask her to do the mating dance with you already?"

"Well…I-er…well."

"Alright, enough of this nonsense," Jellylorum called good-naturedly "Let's get the kits out of here before Sir Andrew bans us all from the set because they tore it up from excitement. Ipisis, that means you."

The grey patched tomkit hid behind Tugger, and the troupe made it out the door with little trouble. Alicia tried to hang up front with Mistoffelees, but Jellyorum and Admetus snuck next to him, and she found herself in the middle, next to Etcetera.

"So…" Alicia said as she kept her eyes on several scampering kits. "They got the whole Etcetera-Tugger obsession thing wrong then, judging by that?"

"Oh, whiskers, no!" Etcetera laughed "I was flat crazy for him when I was younger. We hooked up once, though. I think he did it just to shut me up, but he was sweet enough. But I realized that he would never be a one-queen tom, so I broke it off."

"Really?" Came Alicia's surprised reply.

"Yeah. I still tease him, and we're still friends, but I found someone a bit more dependable." The yellow queen grinned before yelling at Ipisis for roaming in the road. The kit hopped back on the sidewalk, and Etcetera let Cici continue.

"Who? Maybe I missed it, but I've always only seen out hang out with the other queens."

"Pouncival. He's been a little shy about public affection ever since that fling he had with Bomba. Before we got together, of course."

"Oh. You know, I can see the two of you together. It's cute."

"Thanks…oh, and before you ask, it's Pouncival." Etcetera smiled

"Uhhh, What's Pouncival?" Cic asked, confused. Etcetera grinned. "Jo and Veerle asked me already out of curiosity, I just figured you would too. Viceverca's father, that's what's Pouncival."

"Oh, you mean they thought Tugger…"

"Yeah. I said dependable. Tugger's responsible enough with kits, but he'd never be around, so…yeah."

Alicia had fun that night. Watching the kittens was a lot more fun than watching human children. They were so grateful to be out and so well behaved that she didn't have to worry about them too much. Viceverca spent most of the night zooming around in her butterfly costume, graceful and awkward at the same time on too-big kitten feet. Tugger spent the majority of the night being fawned over by Halloween moms, both because of his 'costume' and because of how utterly adorable his little girl Eclectica was. He thrived on the attention, though Mistoffelees could only shake his head. The little kit in question got passed around a bit, as she was still wobbly on her feet and Tugger's arms were getting a bit tired. Alicia got to hold her for a while and fell absolutely in love with her. The tiny queen curled up in Cici's arms and fell promptly asleep, a thumb in her mouth. She couldn't help but blush when someone asked if Eclectica was hers.

The night wore on, and after a few hours and a thousand sincere costume complements later, Mistoffelees was worn out. He didn't know how his brother did it, running around like a mad cat and flirting with anything that moved. Jellylorum had by now taken the youngest kittens home, and the tux tom found himself somehow saddled with Ipisis. Etcetera watched Veecee, and Tugger still had Celly, and a few other older kittens were still around, but he'd have to send them home pretty soon.

The cats made their way back to the studio, Tugger yawning hugely as he nudged sleepy-headed kits to their parents and said his goodbyes, agreeing to meet Cici on Saturday for the play. Mistoffelees, after magically making sure everyone got home safely, played the gentleman and helped Alicia to her van, where she gave him a friendly hug before puttering off. Strangely flustered by it, he teleported himself to Jake's house, where he snuck through the door in cat form just as Jake came in with Shelby and Julia. The black cat rubbed his owner's legs before hopping on the couch to fall into a troubled sleep.


	7. Chapter 7, It's the Musical, Cats!

**Chapter 7. It's the Musical Cats!**

New York City buzzed with excitement as Thanksgiving neared. Broadway lay mobbed with people trying to get tickets, and the unfortunate people who were employed to put up posters were out in the cold every day, refurbishing the walls as people stole the advertisements. 'CATS' had made it back to Broadway, and the city was reacting more enthusiastically than Andrew could have dreamed. Fans of the musical waited on tiptoe for advance tickets, and couldn't wait to bring their children and begin a whole new generation of fans. It seemed, even in the toughest and most disaffected of times, people needed an escape, and the simple world of the Jellicles and their celebration provided that better than any multimillion dollar film adventure or violent game ever could.

Alicia was thrilled when some of her online friends invaded her house, descending upon her when they heard the news she was in the production. And she wasn't the only one mobbed. John, Jacob, Jason, Michael, and a number of the rest of the cast had to dodge around the city, just to avoid their fan clubs. Impromptu 'CAT-cons' popped up all over the city, and amateur films of fan fictions were produced for Youtube. The city, realizing the fad sweeping through, closed the gates to the open junkyards to prevent lawsuits, and it became a common sight to see people in Jellicle costumes walking the streets. The first theatre show was in January, and within three days, it and the next week of productions were sold out. Andrew was thrilled (even if the current Phantom cast a theatre over couldn't believe it, and were therefore thoroughly miffed)

Old Deuteronomy had a hard time containing the tribe, many of which at least attempted to walk about in Jellicle form. Munkustrap and, surprisingly, Tugger, kept them reigned in to the vicinity of the theatre, though few of them were pleased about it. They did stop their complaining, however, and stayed in cat form more, after Jennyanydots and her youngest daughter Fallifax were nearly mugged. Luckily, Pouncival and Frank had been with them, and had knocked the would-be thief out. After that, for the first ten minutes of the day, the cast of Cats had to watch their feet for Jellicles in cat form coming in from the cold, but at least everyone was playing it safe.

The cast had filmed a special commercial for a few networks, and a few of the actors had decided to tape it. Alicia, since she knew her face would be on the commercial, and was absolutely ecstatic that she'd be on T.V. (even if she was unrecognizable) decided to throw a party.

"Shh! Shh.. Shut up guys, here it is." Admetus called as he turned up Alicia's T.V. The Jellicles and a few of the actors had dropped by for the 'first commercial' party. "'Ang on a minute!" Rumpelteazer yelled from the kitchen as she pulled out a tray pilled high with sandwiches, Alicia grabbing out the chips and putting the beer Mungojerrie had back in her fridge. "Only if Skimble says it's okay. I don't want him mad at me for a month 'cause you got slammed and ran through the apartment complex and dropped the Jellicle secret like a ton of bricks."

"DAD!" The tiger tom yelled out. Skimbleshanks yelled back "Let him go, Cici. I locked the door, and Misto-lad ain't about to let him out!"

Cici relinquished the beer with a sigh, grabbed one for herself, and threw another at Rumpelteazer, who caught it with her tail. The three raced to the living room, where the twins sat soundly on Mistoffelees' legs, clinking their bottles and laughing. Alicia was dragged onto John's lap on the floor, which didn't bother her, before Tugger lay down on _her_ lap, an arm snaked between her and John, which bothered the both of them. Jacob was squashed between Skimbleshanks and Frank on the couch, with Pouncival and Leah Sue on the arms. Admetus lay stretched across the back. Rosemarie and Victoria were squidged in the chair, either one's legs propped over one of Alonzo's shoulders. Tumblebrutus, Aeva, Phyllida, Jojo, Drew and Plato were piled together on the floor, next to the Maine Coon/main actor sandwich Cici was stuck in. The food was passed around at top speed, and Admetus clicked the Pause off. The shampoo commercial ended, and the screen went dark.

The overture swelled from the television as the Dancing Eyes flashed past. "The music…" A Mistoffelees scene popped into sight "The magic…" A scene of Grizabella appeared "The memories…" And then a scene of the Jellicle ball, Cici, Jo, and Phyllida in perfect, smiling view as they danced by "The madness of the Jellicle Moon…CATS, as you've never seen it before. Now and forever preserved on video, the world's most popular family musical. Experience the magic now with extended performances and a complete catalogue of the world famous music from both the original London and Broadway theatres." Several scenes of Growltiger's Last Stand played silently across the screen, followed by some of the song clips deleted from the original filming. "See your favorite characters brought to life in new ways with five additional ALW award winning original stories from the minds of the fans. A family adventure for young and old alike…CATS, Now and Forever. The magic will never end!" Clips from a couple of the fan-films ran across the screen before the Dancing Eyes faded back into view. "CATS…Coming to Movie theatres near you March 30th. Live performances returning to the New York area January 20th. Tickets on sale now. Experience the Magic."

The actors and cats cheered, clinking glasses together as they realized that their work was coming to fruition. John laughed as Admetus rewound the scene and did a step by step recap, swearing he saw someone moon the camera. Aeva and Rosemarie looked at each other at the end of the commercial, giggling like mad. "What?" Plato asked, confused "Parker…hahaha…Parker…oh, God, and we almost got him to do it too!…Parker filmed us looking all threatening, going 'Or Macavity will find you!' He almost put it in at the end!…you can tell in that last frame…Look!"

Admetus flipped back, and just after the Dancing Eyes, there was indeed a picture of the two in costume, looking quite evil. Everyone had a good long laugh before going a bit quiet. "Well…what now?" Rumpelteazer asked. Cici shrugged. "Never thought that far ahead…Movie night?"

There was a general consensus of 'yeah, that doesn't sound bad' as Tugger and Mungojerrie got up to raid Alicia's well stocked DVD shelf. Tugger, grinning, pulled out Phantom of the Opera, all three versions, to which he was met with a loud "HELL NO!" from both Mistoffelees and John. "He's been driving me batty all week with that damn 'Prima Donna' song!" John groused. Misto scratched his ear. "If I hear 'Masquerade' one more time, I swear by the Heaviside Layer I'll neuter him myself!" Tugger made a rude gesture and flopped back down on Cici's lap, looking for attention and getting nothing but snickers. He pouted. Mungojerrie was busy imitating a cartoon at a fridge, looking at one title after another, tossing ones he didn't like out "No, no, no. Uh-uh. Uh-uh. Awful. Seen it, seen it, hate it…Aha!"

With a giant Cheshire grin, the tiger tom held up the DVD version of CATS. There was a small, collective groan, before Jacob sat up. "You know… I've only actually watched it about twice. It might be nice to just watch instead of having to think about where my frikkin' feet have to go."

Despite a few complaints, Mungojerrie popped the movie in. Soon, the actors were cracking up laughing at all the bloopers that made it in the final cut, as well as all the funny stories the film brought back. Drew, Mungojerrie, Jojo, and Rumpelteazer had taken a spin on the old 'Where's Exotica' game, the girls and guys paired off into teams for a drinking game. Actors kept rewinding to catch certain goofs, and all four wound up hammered.

Skimbleshanks dragged his adopted children home as soon as the movie was over, and Aeva poured their counterparts into her car to crash at her place for the night. The other Jellicles and actors began filing out, Jake apologizing that he couldn't stay longer, Victoria staying behind to help clean up before she and her mate slunk away. Soon, only John, Tugger, and Mistoffelees were left. It was just shortly after nine, and while Alicia was beat, John had other plans. Wrapping an arm around Misto and Alicia, he started off smugly "Well, loves, the party was fun, but it's done, and I am now _thoroughly_ bored. Let's go out and have some nice, irresponsible fun."

"John, you do realize we have work tomorrow?" Alicia asked, ducking out from his arm. He grinned "Sure, but all work and no play and what not. Besides, there's this new gay bar downtown I've been dying to go to…Karaoke, you know, but Jon's being a stick in the mud. What's say, Misto, help a guy out?"

"Even Tugger's not brave enough to go into a gay bar with you, John." The Jellicle laughed, going over to nudge his brother, who was cat-napping in the chair. "Hmm, what? Gay bar? I'm in!…As long as there are some cute lezzies." "Pig." Misto and Alicia said at the same time. John clapped Misto on the back and grabbed Tugger's hand, pulling him out of the chair. "Come on, glamour you beautiful cat selves and lets get out of here. I'm treating. Hell, I'll even get Cici a lap dance."

"This I wanna see," Tugger grinned. Alicia grabbed her keys and punched John on the shoulder. "You do it and you die." she laughed. They piled into her van and made their way down to the party district, Mistoffelees glamouring himself and his brother along the way. Tugger's glamour consisted of tight leather pants that left absolutely nothing to the imagination, a leather vest that had a hood and lapels done in what looked like authentic fur, his gloves and belt, a flippy hairdo that suited him a little too well, and a face that could have passed as John's twin in the right light, only with a stronger chin and a longer nose.

He pouted a little when Cici said "I hope you aren't planning on having any fun tonight, those pants look like they could cut off the blood flow to everything the waist down!" Misto immediately had to smack his brother, who, never a shy bone in his body, went to solve the problem by reaching for the zipper. John had to grab the wheel, since Cici couldn't breath; she was laughing too hard.

They made it to The Bird Cage unscathed, and when the owner, an aging drag queen named Mitzy, recognized John from CATS, they were let in for free. (All John had to endure was a thoroughly creepy slap on the ass.)

They found a table and ordered drinks, Misto volunteering to be the designated driver (he couldn't drive, but magic did come in handy for more than light shows.) Tugger was immediately accosted and dragged onto the dance floor by three drag queens and a bear of a black man that he didn't want to piss off. He enjoyed himself far too much. John simply leaned back and watched the Karaoke singers, looking for all the world like a king surveying his kingdom…until Misto knocked his chair out from under him, spilling his Mimosa all down his front. John stripped out of the shirt and hurled it at the Jellicle, Alicia laughing into her daiquiri between them. Tugger escaped his impromptu fan club and made it onstage, some how managed to get the karaoke version of his own song, and even more amazingly, find a partner to help him out (the partner was Mitzy, who actually had a rather nice falsetto voice.)

John, Cici, and Mistoffelees were in utter stitches by the second verse, until Cici spotted someone out of the corner of her eye and ducked behind John.

"SHIT!"

"Problems, love?" John asked, looking behind him. "What's wrong Cici?" came Misto's concerned reply. Alicia's eyes darted around "It's Richard."

"Who's Richard?" Misto asked

"My last ex-boyfriend."

"Then what's he doing here?" John said, following Alicia's eyes until he spotted the man. "Richard's bi…and he probably go a job here. He's a male stripper"

"Lucky girl" John smiled "Why are you hiding back there?"

"Richard's got a temper…and we ended on really bad terms. I just don't want to see him right now."

"Alright hon" John said, realizing there was something else and looking to see if Misto had noticed it as well. He had.

"You just stay behind us, and he won't bother you." the Jellicle grinned, helping Cici to her feet. Tugger's song ended and her sauntered back to the table, balancing the free Sex on the Beach that Mitzy had slipped him on three fingers, dodging Misto's foot as he sat down next to Cici. "You three aren't laughing your heads off, and even I'll admit that was flat ridiculous," he said, putting an arm around the girl next to him. "What's with all the quiet?"

"Nothing." Alicia muttered before John talked over her. "Ally's Ex showed up. It wasn't a good thing with them, apparently."

"John!" she hissed, looking mortified as Tugger scanned, following Misto's gaze. "You want me to claw his eyes out? I'll do it, you know."

"NO! Just leave it alone you guys. It's no big deal…I just don't like running into Exes is all."

"Says the girl who dove out of her chair." Mistoffelees murmured, leaning close to her ear. "You can tell us, Alicia. It goes no further than this table. Did he hurt you?"

Alicia sighed, realizing that the three weren't going to let it go no matter what lies she told them. Tugger and John were glaring across the dance floor at Richard, their glares growing fiercer after Misto's words. She chugged down the rest of her daiquiri, the alcohol slamming into her stomach and sending a bolt of false bravery up her spine.

"He didn't hurt me…not physically, anyway. He did a couple of commercials a few years ago, and some TV extra work, and he had the biggest ego I've ever seen. He was always tearing me down, telling me I was nothing. He almost had me convinced he was doing me a favor by dating me. He shot down every dream I had and made me think I was worthless. Half the time, he didn't even have to say anything. It was just this look he had. He's a hundred times worse than Bryn. I almost gave up everything, all my Cats stuff, my artwork and costuming…all of it. Then…" her voice faltered, and she looked away, a tear forming in her eye. "Alicia, you tell us what he did. I swear he'll pay for it." John growled. Tugger rested his head on her shoulder in support, and Misto rubbed her arm. She shook her head. "I'm making it sound worse…I…he didn't date rape me or anything…I caught him trying to kill my cat."

"What?" Tugger and Misto growled. Alicia wiped her eyes. "I came home early one day…He had Leary tied in a sack, screaming and yowling…he tried to smash him against the wall. I kicked him out of my apartment and…I threw the first punch…but we beat the shit out of each other. He didn't press charges…and I just didn't want anything on the books…but…"

"Well, he's not going to get anywhere near you tonight. And don't you ever think you aren't worth a thousand of him. You are a brilliant performer, even with as little training as you've had. Don't you ever think anything different." Mistoffelees said adamantly, gazing into her eyes. She blushed. John yelled for another round of drinks to break the silence. The waiter was a beautiful little Asian tranny that John flirted with mercilessly. Cici and Misto fell into a hushed conversation as Tugger joined John in his flirting.

The night wore on, John getting restless and sauntering to the dance floor for a bit of anonymous fun. Tugger proved to be a lush, and his eyes would have been floating if they weren't closed in a seductive little catnap. Alicia was grateful to Misto for putting up with her. She wasn't much of a drinker, and tended to be a sad one when she did indulge. Mistoffelees demanded that she tell him every thing Richard had said to her that had hurt her, and one by one, the Jellicle shot down every comment and cruel remark.

Cici was just tipsy enough to be brave and still have her balance. After watching Tugger's black bear friend belt out 'Don't Rain on My Parade,' she marched up to the DJ and demanded P!nk's '_So What?_' After tossing back a vodka shooter, she dragged Misto on stage with her, and pointedly glared at Richard throughout the entire song, dancing raucously and yet still graceful, just enough slink thrown in to earn a second glace that stayed. She changed a few words to suite her purposes, and Misto found himself spinning her in his arms or unconsciously lifting her more than once.

The song ended with a little laugh from P!nk, and a raspberry, but Alicia, a bit dizzy from the dancing and with more alcohol coursing through her veins than she really needed or was used to, did the one thing she knew would infuriate her ex, not thinking clearly about just _who_ she was doing it with. The tipsy blonde rounded on Mistoffelees and cupped his face in her hands, kissing him deeply. Misto's eyes widened.

He froze in place, before _'She's drunk' _shot its rationalizing way through his brain. The thought didn't come fast enough to stop his body's natural reaction, which was to kiss her back. A little jolt passed through Alicia's mouth as he flicked her top lip with his tongue before pulling away, half shocked and fully confused at what had just happened. Alicia had just enough time, after the disorientation passed, to see Richard's enraged face before Misto dragged her off the stage, the face of his glamour bright scarlet. He collected John from the dance floor and shook Tugger awake.

"Come on, you two have work, and Tugger's gonna have a hell of a hangover if I don't get him sorted out. Not to mention the one's you'll have of you keep it up," the black cat jabbered, speaking fast to cover up his embarrassment. Alicia apologized profusely under her breath, but Misto, not really offended, tried to get her to stop before she depressed herself. "Forget it, silly. You're just a bit zozzled is all. It's not a problem."

Misto got Tugger and John to their apartment, dropping the actor off at his door, forced his brother into cat form and pouring him into John's arms, apologizing to John's boyfriend as he left.

He magicked Alicia's van to drive them to her building, parking and locking the thing and helping Alicia up the stairs in silence. Alicia, never a happy drunk, sniffled a bit in his arms, still trying to apologize for what she'd done. In her mind, it was the worst thing she could have done to him. She'd used him, embarrassed him, and forced him to do something that she was sure he'd never do on his own. It wasn't a matter of keeping the Jellicle secret safe this time. It was just plain abuse. She slurred out as much as Misto laid her out on her bed.

The black cat smiled, and placed a hand over her mouth. "I said hush. It's not the end of the world, and, believe me, I more than understand. You don't grow up Tugger's younger brother and _not_ have that happen to you once or twice."

"But…"

"No. Look, it was nothing, just a harmless little stage kiss to piss off that asshole ex. Trust me, it's fine."

"You aren't…I mean…are we still…?" Mistoffelees grinned as he ran his hands over her face and through her hair, using a spell to ensure she wouldn't get a hangover. He'd been through this round of questions more than once.

"No, I'm not mad. Yes, I will still respect you in the morning, and _Yes_, of course we're still friends. Now go to sleep, the last thing you need after Richard showing up is to wake up _not_ roaring and ready to take on the world, 'kay?"

"Okay." Misto smiled and blinked at her slowly, quietly dropping another spell to help her fall asleep. "'Night, Cici." he whispered as the magic took effect and her eyelids dropped.

"'Night Misto" she murmured sleepily before burrowing deeper into the covers to fend of the November chill. She didn't feel the gentle kiss he placed on her forehead before he let himself out.

Misto kept his glamour on as he roved the city to get to Jacob's house. He watched the traffic speed by in a haze, his hidden claws tracing the lines of his lips, the sensation of Alicia's kiss still floating on them, the tingle left behind not leaving. What had that jolt meant, he wondered, and where on earth was this friendship taking him?

He lay down at the foot of Julia's tiny pink bed once he got home, Jake's tiny daughter petting him in her sleep. The black cat sat in silent, disturbed contemplation the whole night, his thoughts humming steadily to a soundtrack of the little girl's breathing.


	8. Chapter 8, Jellicle Cats

**Chapter 8. Jellicle Cats**

Thanksgiving neared, and with it, the usual chaos of the American actors and workers getting time off and booking flights to see their families. The Jellicles were scattered as well, some working out the last few kinks in their dances, which, though next to instinctual, they wanted to get as near to perfect as they could. Other Jellicles were hunting up the scattered members of the tribe and escorting them into the city. After a couple of days of awkwardness over the whole Karaoke bar incident, Misto and Alicia put it behind them and Misto explained some of the vaguer points of the Jellicle ball to Alicia.

Almost any cat could earn a song, though some of the cats of the tribe didn't take part in the dancing because they felt too old, and some had deformities that prevented them from getting around in Jellicle form too well. Special talents, like Skimble's train duties or the Twins' cat burglar skills weren't necessary for music. The songs could be story like, or extol on the character of the cat, or just something fun or poignant thought up by the individual. Some were short verses and some were arias, and everything in between. There was some sort of vague telepathy brought on by the Jellicle moon and how it affected the cats' physiology that allowed them to carry on almost random seeming songs and dances in tandem. The scientific corner of Alicia's mind was fascinated, but she toned it down, just to keep from getting on everyone's nerves, because none of the cats were entirely sure just how it worked either, they just knew it happened and accepted it.

She was also warned, without Mistoffelees giving her too much information, the Ball would last from dusk 'til dawn and that the process of sending a cat to the Heaviside Layer would be like nothing she had ever seen.

During this time, though filming of the canon wasn't complete (Andrew really wanted to do the 'Growltiger' and 'Gus' bits with Susan, and was using the filming sessions now as practice, extra material, and blooper reels,) the cast began filming the fan movies, which was really quite different than even the on-and-off singing of filming the straight musical. They had actual lines to learn, and there was a separate but similar character development in each piece. Alicia found herself in a feminized version of the Mistoffelees costume with a pregnancy prosthetic strapped to her middle, which led awkward scenes with John to become even more awkward. Misto had to cast spells on the both of them more than once just to keep them from cracking up in the middle of 'tender' scenes.

Jo Bingham lost her voice the week she was scheduled to do her scenes, which were surprisingly plentiful in the fan films. She had an insanity scene in the horror story, a decent little part in the still unnamed musical sequel, and a love story with, of all cats, Macavity, in the Episodes of Jellicle Life, which it turned out was actually a collection of seven separate fan fictions that Andrew couldn't decide between and had lumped together with a rather decent story line. Jo, who had very little faith in the straight acting ability of her understudy, secretly asked Andrew to let Alicia have her parts, which the girl accepted without a thought, though once she found out the truth, she sent an anonymous bouquet of flowers to her fellow understudy and thanked Jo within an inch of her life. The 'Episodes' Macavity had to be played by Frank, who had the next deepest voice, because Bryn kept getting grabby 'on accident' and Alicia wound up clocking him more than once.

As the actors prepared for their condensed performance in the Thanksgiving parade (which was tricky, because they would be on top of a flatbed float) Alicia spent any spare moment she had speaking with any cat she could get a second with, surreptitiously planting seeds in their ears on the younger Asparagus' behalf. She'd sort of adopted him and Jellylorum as an aunt and uncle, and could not imagine losing him. He wasn't the most spectacular cat in the world, but as far as she was concerned, he was family, and she'd do what she could.

Old Deuteronomy sat on one of the softer parts of the stage, his three sons around him. Munkustrap lounged at his left, with Tugger and Mistoffelees leaning against each other to his right. Tugger was fiddling idly with Misto's hair, his tail flopped in his younger brother's lap. Misto twined the end of Tugger's tail in and out of his fingers absently, both unaware of the little glare Munkustrap was shooting at them. Old Deuteronomy smiled at his two youngest, who had always been extremely close. The ancient Jellicle watched the stragglers of the cast stretch or chat amongst themselves and the cats. Near the oven, Alicia was speaking quietly with Grizabella. The old tom, feeling mischievous, decided to eavesdrop, not able to imagine what the two very different ladies could possibly have to talk about.

"…it's just such a pity… I mean, he's so kind, and Feline Leukemia…I can only imagine…"

"I didn't know…well, I'll certainly not forget that come the Ball… and he isn't worried at all, says he'll just take what comes to him?"

"That's right."

"Ah, Perry was always such a kind tom…I'm glad you said something…I know he never would have."

Alicia gave Grizabella a small smile and went silent as she watched the Jellicle flirt harmlessly with a passing Tumblebrutus, who blushed under his fur and gave an awkward little wave. Deuteronomy chuckled at the scene, and gave a little glance to Mistoffelees, who was busy grooming a shoulder. Misto looked up at his father, remembering a second late to roll his tongue back into his head. "Yes, father?"

"Quaxo my lad, it seems that you've lost a portion of your young friend's attention."

"I don't understand." Misto said, wondering why his father was mentioning his friendship with Cici at all.

"Miss Connors has seemed…unusually concerned with the younger Asparagus's health for quite some time now, hasn't she? This is not the first time I have overheard her speaking to cats on his behalf."

Mistoffelees smiled. Alicia had spoken to him about the very same thing, and he answered with a bit more relief in his voice than he thought should have been there. "Oh, that? Perry had a coughing spell and she found out he's got Feline Leukemia. She's sort of taken him and Jellylorum in, and she'd rather not lose him so soon."

"Mm, I see. Jelly didn't tell me she'd gotten a new owner. Perhaps it slipped her mind." Old Deuteronomy said, his chin in his hand. Misto shook his head, politely correcting his father. "They don't live with her; Alicia claims them as an aunt and uncle."

Munkustrap sat up a little straighter, his eyebrows up in mild shock. Deuteronomy spoke before Munkustrap could open his mouth. "Indeed? Even though they are quite obviously not human?"

Tugger interrupted Mistoffelees, tired of not being in the conversation and knowing the situation as well. "Ally's weird. In her mind, family isn't who you're born to, but who your heart cares for naturally. And apparently, that's Perry and Jelly. I'm expecting her to adopt Skimble and Jenny next, really."

Mistoffelees looked back at his brother, surprised he had said close to what Misto himself had been thinking. Deuteronomy smiled, looking back at the young blond, who was now speaking in hushed tones with Fallifax, who was giggling, her seven year old frame wiggling with standing still too long.

Deuteronomy smiled, rising and leaving his sons to their musings. He made his way slowly to Alicia, who looked up at him in surprise before bowing her head. She'd always felt he was due more respect, and bowing seemed appropriate to her. The elderly tom's smile widened, and he patted her on the head kindly. "You have a loving heart, Miss Connors. Guard it closely, and do not lose it as so many humans do."

Alicia stared at him unashamedly, confused not only at what he had said, but that he had acknowledged her with an affection she'd never seen him afford to any of the other humans of the cast. All she could do was nod to him and smile.

Old Deuteronomy left the set for the day: his visits were never long, and Mistofelees came to sit beside Alicia as she mended a legwarmer someone had handed her. He smiled at her, blatantly ignoring Munkustrap's cleared throat as the grey tabby walked past them. "Are you excited about the Ball?" the black cat asked, a playful grin on his face. Alicia looked at him, deadpan "Oh, that little fuss? I'm afraid I can't make it…" her composure broke, and she threw the glob of knitting at him "Of _course_ I'm excited! Honestly, what sort of question is that?"

"Well, cats and curiosity and all that." Misto grinned as he picked a strand of yarn out of his chest fur. "But honestly, it's the day after that holiday of your's, Thanksgiving. Can you make it?"

"I'd better be able to." Alicia said, chewing her lip and looking at him nervously. "Misto…my parents want you to come back for the Thanksgiving weekend. God only knows why, but…I'll skip going there if you can't, of course, I know it's a bother …but…maybe you could just jinx us back?"

Mistoffelees looked at her in surprise. He'd been sure her parents couldn't stand him. He quickly went over what he had to do to help his father with the ball. It would be cutting it dangerously close, but for Alicia…"Sure." the black cat grinned "It's nothing I can't handle." Alicia smiled, giving him a huge hug before bouncing off to give the repaired legwarmer back to Frank, who thanked her profusely for saving his ass from Wendy. Misto stopped and looked back at himself. He _hated_ doing things last minute. Absolutely _hated_ it when it came to his magic, which, even after years of training, was still rooted in his emotions and therefore sometimes unpredictable. Why on earth was he rearranging his whole pre-Ball ritual for, of all things, a human?

Granted, she was one of his closest friends, had wormed her way into his heart in a matter of weeks and stuck there, but he wouldn't have made such a sacrifice for even Tugger, whom he loved beyond most reason. So why, the troubled Jellicle asked himself, why for Alicia?

Alicia tried not to think of the inconvenience of her parents and the fact they were asking her to embarrass her best friend yet again as she sat under Etcetera, Charlotte letting the queen try her hand at face painting. The only weird thing about the situation was that she was applying her own face to Alicia's. She grinned down at the actress, who smiled back up at her before asking something that had been niggling at her mind for a couple of weeks.

"Hey Etcy, you know Misto pretty well, right? You used to go with him, didn't you? "

"Not for too long, but yeah. Why?"

"What's the deal with his ears? Me and him and Vick and Karl were all goofing around backstage a while back, and he grabbed my leg, and the only thing I could get a hold of were his ears, and he just turned beet red and ran off."

"Oh…Oh, dear!" Etcetera giggled as she finished the paint job and went on to the wig. "Misto's well, he's, oh, how do I put it? He's wired funny. The backs of his ears are directly connected to…hmm-mm" At the 'hmm-mm' the blushing queen pointed to the V of her legs. Alicia's face went bright red. "Oh. My. God. And all the times I've accidentally gotten his ears as a cat….oh, god…"

"And _what_, precisely, is wrong with having your ears wired to your crotch?" Tugger demanded the next chair over, glaring playfully at Etcy. "I'm wired the same way, but everyone's always paying too much attention to the rest of me to notice."

"Oh, really?" said John, who had been eavesdropping the entire time and was now shooting smarmy grins at the lot of them. Tugger didn't see the look. "Yes, really-AACK! What the _Hell_ John!"

John had, upon Tugger's reply, grabbed the Jellicle's head, tilted it back and dragged his tongue over Tugger's left ear, an evil grin on his face.

Tugger's eye twitched, and Etcetera and Cici burst into crazed giggling at the look of utter violation on his face.

"Oh, what's the big deal? You grab my ass and glomp my chest all the time."

"Yeah, your ass and chest, nothing…upfront." Tugger balked, leaning forward in the chair, his ear flickering madly.

"That bad, huh?" John said, sympathy eking into his voice.

"What part of 'wired to my crotch' did you miss? Cripes…I'm just glad I'm sitting down."

John apologized though a fit of laughter, and Tugger eventually recovered enough to make it out of the makeup room without embarrassing himself…or getting raped by John. Alicia made a memo to herself to not touch Misto's ears again. What signals had she been sending him?

The shooting that day went quite well. Alicia finished off her Etcetera days with a thoroughly understanding Frank/Macavity making her laugh whenever the scenes got too emotional. She began to see how Macavity had such a fan base. You just had to picture the rest of his personality as the non-harmful type of crazy…it was sort of like the Phantom of the Opera syndrome, falling for the bad guy.

There were so few mishaps that day that something nagged at the back of Alicia's mind. The old phrase, 'if everything seems to be going well, we've obviously missed something' kept shooting through her head. Everyone else felt it too. It was one of the things that sort of happened on set when all the cats were about. Everyone got slightly clairvoyant, covered in vibes, whatever one wanted to call it.

It happened at the end of the day, when cats were beginning to file out and actors beginning to trudge to the backpacks. A shriek sounded throughout the theatre from one of the bathrooms. Jennyanydots recognized the scream, and headed straight to see what had happened. After everyone waiting on pins and needles for half an hour, the older queen came out, carrying something in a black towel, her arms around a weeping Rumpelteazer. No one knew at that moment quite what had happened, but all knew not to ask. The smell of blood pervaded the air.

Alicia and Victoria, both of whom were quite close to the tiger tabby, sat amid the backpacks, holding each others hands and wondering what was going on, hoping their friend was not too badly hurt or ill. Misto came upon them after a time and hugged them, rubbing both their shoulders and giving his sister a significant look. Alicia did not understand, but when Mungojerrie came up to them, his eyes bloodshot and his voice thick, she wished she'd never figured it out.

"Stoff…I…Teazer's lost another set…I don't think…don't think we'll be able to do our thing this year…not so soon after…I couldn't ask her…even if I wanted…could you do the ol' puppet act this year 'round?"

Mistoffelees nodded kindly, standing to give Mungojerrie a rough hug. "Of course, old friend. Just see to it that Teazer gets herself healed up."

"I don't know 'ow much more o' this either of us c'n take, Stoff. This's the fifth set she's lost, not to mention the three by themselves… I don't think…she'll survive another…"

"You'll get there, one day. Just don't worry. It will happen, I know that much."

"You sure o' that?"

"Absolutely."

Mungojerrie hobbled away, wiping at his eyes and stumbling over things he normally would have missed. Alicia wasn't quite sure what had happened, but she had a good idea. There was no polite way to ask, so she turned to stark statement to find the truth. "She had a miscarriage, didn't she?"

Mistoffelees nodded solemnly. Victoria was crying. "Go home sis, you don't need to be this upset." Misto told her. Victoria followed his advice, and left quickly, finding solace in Plato's arms.

"I don't understand. I did the math. They've lost thirteen. Why do they keep trying? Wouldn't it be easier on the both of them to just…take in some kittens or something?"

"Yes and no," Misto began "They've always known there would be problems, because they were twins, but it's harder on Rumpelteazer to _not_ be a mother."

"I don't…"

"When Deuteronomy saw them in his visions, and told Mr. Eliot about them, they were both toms. That's why the poem reads like it does. But even father couldn't have foreseen that Rump has a genetic defect. She can't process testosterone, so even though she's genetically male, she developed as a queen. Even thought they were born in the same sac, they came out two different genders, which is supposed to be impossible. It's why she's lighter than him, too. She's known about it for a while now, and it bothers her. She wants to prove she's just as much a queen as any of them, and in her mind, that equals kittens."

Alicia sat there and processed the information. She had seen the way Misto had winced after he'd told her. Was this another Jellicle secret to be kept under the rug, entrusted to him because he was a part time healer for the tribe? Why did he trust her so, with so little hesitation?

She smiled "They never have to know that you told me. I won't say a word. I just hope they get what they want someday."

Misto smiled back, relieved he was off the bean spilling hook, and leaned on her shoulder wearily. "Thanks. I'd trust you with my soul."

Alicia blushed, and unknown to her, so did Mistoffelees. Why he had said that, he didn't know. He only knew it was true.

Thanksgiving at Cici's parents went off better than either of them could have hoped. Cici had dragged Tugger, John, Jo Bingham, and Etcetera along, all to keep her father's eye off of Misto, as well as to have more people to back up the whole charade. And friends over was just nice sometimes, especially since they helped Alicia and Mistoffelees forget about Rumpelteazer's misfortune for a time. They stayed up way too late playing video games in Cici's room every night, and John and Tugger flirted mercilessly with Kiki, who was a closet lesbian and found them both hilarious. Using Sheen's camera, the Cats and cast filmed a few little goofy home movies to run past Andrew, including Misto and the real Tugger tearing wildly through a field on Alicia's four-wheeler and all the cats running from a herd of dogs.

Mistoffelees, for sheer lack of room, found himself sharing Alicia's bedroom, along with Jo and Etcy. Kiki had had the good sense to stay in a motel, and rather out of place in-laws took up her room, while a set of cousins took up the hide-away on the couch. Everyone else bunked with Sheen, who's room was tiny and could barely hold John, Tugger, Sheen, and Sheen's 'friend' even though two of them were camped out on the floor. The flutter in his stomach at sharing her room troubled Mistoffelees, but he pushed it down by casting sleep spells on every human in the house not on the cast and sleeping at Alicia's feet in cat form. He managed to get the lot of them to the Tribe's current junkyard only an hour before he was supposed to start his duties.

Needless to say, he needed that hour. His father found him meditating in an old Lincoln, and soon, the Ball began to swing into motion.

Alicia sat down on an old trunk, out of the way as the cats did some last minute preparations. Jellylorum was shooing the kittens too young to attend to various dens, their eyes drooping in a magic induced sleepiness. Mistoffelees was busy looking over the strange instruments of the cats who would not be participating due to age or deformity and occasionally looking at the perimeter of the junkyard and doing something or other with a pulsing blue mage-light. Tugger, after a quick word with Bombalurina, disappeared into an old R.V., his tiny daughter Eclectica asleep and tangled into his mane.

Skimbleshanks sat down next to the curious blond and patted her on the shoulder as Veerle and Drew joined them, sitting down at their feet. A thin black and white queen peeped out inquisitively from behind a car nearby and then darted away when she saw the humans. Skimbleshanks chuckled ambiguously and settled further into his seat next to Alicia, who looked his way, confused.

"Aren't you going to dance this year, Skimble?"

"Ah, some, but not as much as I used to. I'm feelin' my age this year, and I'm not about to hear it from Jenny for two weeks if I strain something. Ah, well; but you're a lucky lass aren't ya? All you humans are lucky this time around, there's a new few songs this year."

"New songs?" Alicia and Veerle asked at once. Skimble smiled, his face crinkling around his teeth. "Aye. Well, with Old Gus not old any more and Grizabella going up a few years back and cats moving on and such, we had to fill in spaces. Happens every five years or so. Cats move on or opt out and new songs get started. They'll probably persuade me to dump mine in a year or two. I'll be glad."

"But I _like_ your song!" Drew groaned. He knew how things went with the cats, but that didn't stop him protesting. Skimble threw up his hands.

"Oh, now, don't get me wrong, I'm rather fond o' it myself, but I've been a railway cat for over eighty years now, and how many people do you see on the train now these days?"

"Well, yeah but…wait…_eighty_?" Alicia said, peering closely at the cat. Drew and Veerle just shrugged. Skimble took mercy on their confusion and explained.

"Ah, well, I'm on a second life. Bein' a railway cat has its dangers, and I got squashed one too many times."

"_One_ too many times?" Veerle laughed "How many is just enough?"

"All the ones that don't kill ye, lass. First it was the leg, then m'tail, then the other leg. The last one…let's just say four wasn't my lucky number that year."

"Ouch."

"Aye. Ah, maybe the train'll pick up and I'll be in a job for a while longer. Either way, my song's had one of the longest runs, and I'm sure cats are getting tired of it, though I know they'd never say so. At least little Skitter got a song."

"Skitter?" Drew asked. "Oh, aye, Skittermilly, the little patch-tux you saw peepin' round earlier. She's one of mine. It's always a pleasure to see one of your own getting a song."

"Skimble, just exactly how many kids do you have?" Veerle asked, since over the years she'd long since lost count. Drew and Alicia were busy balancing on each other trying to catch a glimpse of the speedy Skittermilly as Skimbleshanks laughed and answered

"Well…don't be tellin' Jenny, but I lost count. In between the litters and the ones we've taken in…and my memory not being the best to begin with…well…" Skimbleshanks shrugged limply and grinned as Veerle giggled. Alicia and Drew gave up looking for Skimble's daughter and Alicia rolled off the actors shoulders, dragging him back to his seat and resting her head on his as she spilled the questions Mistoffelees hadn't answered to the Railway cat, her curiosity known no bounds.

"So, how does this whole thing work anyway? Misto only told me so much."

"How do you mean, lass?"

"The songs, the dancing-You! How aren't you seen or heard or…who does the music…who puts the songs in order…how-?"

"Whoa-easy lass!" Skimbleshanks laughed, putting up his hands to stop the onslaught "one at a time, you're like a kitten their first year!"

"But it IS my first Jellicle Ball!" she protested, a phony pout on her lips. Skimbleshanks ruffled her hair and grinned. "Ah, now I know that. Well, first off, Old Deuteronomy and Misto-lad hide the place and noise magically-not sure how, just know it works. The cats that don't want to participate, or the ones missin' limbs that have difficulty usually take up the instruments, most of which we've made ourselves, by the way. And a warning, don't think it'll sound the same. Cat music is different from human music. And as far as the song order, well, Tugger usually crashes in whenever he feels like it, and my two idiots scare everyone off to do their thing when they-erm-feel well enough, but unless Macavity shows his face, we usually just know. One of those ineffable Jellicle things."

"Don' worry yore 'ed," Drew said in his Mungojerrie voice, wrapping an arm around the mesmerized blond "Ya get used to it. It's flat awesome."

Alicia smiled at the two before a loud "Hello!" rang in their ears. It was Tugger and Mistoffelees as they came up waving at the small group.

"Where are our clones?" Tugger asked as he sat down in between the girls, twining one arm around Veerle and the other around Cici. "John should be here soon. Jake couldn't make it, Julia's sick"

"Oh, pity. Hope the little mite gets better." Tugger said. He was rather fond of Julia, even if the little two year-old pulled his tail in cat form sometimes. Misto grinned as he plopped down exhaustedly behind Skimbleshanks. "It's just a cold, but she's little, so they're careful. You settled in, Cici?" Alicia looked over at the tux as he turned to her. "These things can take for-bloody-ever, and it sucks, well, at least for the humans, when there's no bathroom nearby."

"I'm good," she laughed. "Um…is it okay if I record the songs…just to remember?"

"I don't see why it wouldn't be. Here, use this." Mistoffelees closed his eyes, and from the various elements of trashed recording equipment, conjured a frightful little microphone looking apparatus. "I'll filter out whatever you want later, but I can't hang around too much, Father's been having me do more and more each year."

Alicia nodded sweetly, a huge toothy grin taking over her face "It's alright, Misto. I didn't expect you to hang around, and I don't think I'd be able to _not_ enjoy myself tonight."

Mistoffelees returned her warm grin, and clipped the little device he'd made to her shirt securely before running off to disappear somewhere in the towering junk piles, which seemed far too large even for a New York junkyard. Tugger gave a jaunty little nod of his head before unwinding his arms from around the girls and sauntering off, his hips taking on their trademarked sway. Skimbleshanks threw a polite salute and brushed off his fur as he walked away, disappearing into the background as well.

Soon the only visible life in the junkyard were the humans, scattered amongst the junk in tiny enclaves of three or four, and adolescent Jellicles looking around in confusion, as well as some older regular cats who seemed to wait in anticipation for the coming event. John snuck in behind Alicia just as the last rays of sunlight disappeared in the sky, and as one, he, Alicia, Drew, and Veerle sat hunkered together in silence as they felt the velvety hush of night fall over the junkyard. A tiny blue light of impossible brightness flickered over the area for a moment, and suddenly, everything swung into motion. The blaring lights of the city disappeared to reveal true starlight, and the full moon, hazed to a delicate lavender color, shone down on the landscape.

The music swelled from nowhere, and everywhere, and Alicia could not find any of the musicians in the scenery, though she tried. The music was unlike anything she'd ever heard before, haunting and happy, frightening and foreboding, inviting and warm all at once and more than that, more than she could describe in a lifetime of trying. It was an ululating pulse and a frantic beat, an operatic masterpiece and a jig, every type of music she'd ever heard and yet none of them. She could identify none of the inhuman instruments, but as the junkyard came alive with cats and the pulsing magnificence of their music began to force her heart's rhythm, she dropped her searching curiosity and lost herself in the melodies as her blood pumped in time to the music.

Alicia felt John's pulse behind her, Drew and Veerle's off to the side, and a strange, tickling tendril of thought edged at her brain as her heart seemed to grow in her chest, and she knew that this was the true magic of the Jellicle ball, that she was sharing her consciousness with all the other cats and humans present in the junkyard, and they were sharing theirs.

She watched in awe as the adult tribe cats explained the wonders of felinity to the youngsters and the initiates, the normal cats, and when she saw Misto wink at her, she knew he was explaining things to her as well. The dancing was like nothing she had ever seen, wild but controlled, more flexible than any human dancer could ever hope to be, even the sturdiest cats turning inside their own skins with moves that seemed impossible. Cats moved individually but in unison, the dance as ululating as the music, and Alicia felt her heart rate go crazy as the first dance of the Jellicle Ball reached crescendo.

After the introduction, the normal cats thinned out, some looking regretful, as if they weren't ready for something, others darting away terrified. Those that remained gathered around Old Deuteronomy, who was sung into presence by his three sons and the rest of the tribe, the song nothing like the one of the musical. Alicia felt like she was in church, only the things she was supposed to feel, the reverence and respect, were actually there, directed at the feline monarch in front of her, power emanating from his form.

The old Jellicle intoned a divine sounding poem about how cats were introduced into the tribe, and with a slight smell of blood and a gasp from all the humans, most of whom had never seen an initiation, watched as all the cats slashed their paws with their teeth, even the normal cats. A double circle was formed, normal cats and Jellicles, with Old Deuteronomy in the center. Mistoffelees' fur glimmered a fantastic blue, and a pure white light shone in Deuteronomy's normally dark eyes, and slowly the normal cats grew in size, their bones transforming and their fur patterns changing slightly as they stood on two feet. Soon, twenty more Jellicles were in the circle, and no normal cats, and Alicia understood that this was what Asparagus had meant by his mother being an initiate.

The music changed, and a celebratory feel took over the air as Deuteronomy and Mistoffelees faded into the background, the older cat surrounded by concerned queens of varying ages and the tux slinking away into darkness to appear at Alicia's feet in cat form, devouring a humongous rat, obviously tired from the expenditure of magic. She rubbed his back and smiled in silence, knowing there was nothing she could say to express the wonder she felt at everything.

The night wore on, cats, Bustopher Jones, Tugger, Skittermilly, and Jennyanydots among them getting their songs. Skittermilly, it turned out, was sort of a mix between Victoria and Jennyanydots, a shy little dancing stray who taught the kittens and fellow strays the ways of her kind, but scurried away from humans on principle. She hissed and ran off in a flash when a certain hip jiggling tom cat crashed onto the scene with a monstrous set of midair back-flips and a rock-star quality yowl.

Tugger's song was far more interesting and wild than that of his stage counterpart's, and Alicia could really far better understand why every queen and half the toms were always chasing after him. Bustopher of course boasted of his epicurean feats and Jennyanydots was joined in a wonderful production by not only cats glamoured to look like enormous mice and roaches, but the actual creatures themselves, who moved objects all around the yard to look as if everything were animated by magic.

After a time, Mistoffelees got up, switching to Jellicle form and taking Alicia by the hand as he waved to a young tom across the junkyard. Before Cici could ask, the black cat whispered "Trust me." As the tom made his way towards them, a variety of material and metal flew from the piles of junk and collected around him, until he resembled a rather armored version of Mungojerrie. Alicia felt her control of her body leave as Misto winked at her, and odd bits of junk collected around her as well. She felt herself propelled towards the younger tom and with fear, excitement and anticipation as she realized that this was what Mungojerrie had meant by 'the old puppet routine.' Her body moved in ways that she knew were physically impossible without magic and her voice rang out along with Mistoffelees' mellow tenor and the young tom's slightly deeper one as she was propelled around the junkyard by the magic of her friend.

The song drifted into another, and the material and metal fell away, and Mistoffelees helped her to her seat, smiling before dashing off to dance as one of the cats Alicia didn't know lead the tribe in a raucous swing-y sort of number. Alicia watched in awe as the dancing continued throughout the night, rocking in time with the cats in John's arms (which had latched onto her at one point and hadn't let go since).

Suddenly, it seemed, the music softened and cats began to clear away from the centre of the junk piles, leaving an empty plane devoid of dancers. Whispers and mews sounded quietly from the sidelines, and pairs of cats began to make their way to the middle. The young tom from before, a grey tabby with a startling gold blaze on one half of his face and hair, who it turned out was Munkustrap's only son Pawdivere, made his way to the shy Skittermilly. Bustopher Jones drew quite a few stares as he danced a quiet waltz with a pure white Persian queen, surreptitiously hiding the fact that she was missing her right arm. Several other pairs of cats, most hetero, but a few of the same gender, slowly made their way to the centre of the junkyard.

Alicia felt she should be embarrassed when the dancing transformed into other things, things only insinuated by the stage, but she couldn't turn away. John leaned closer to her, and her heart rate was going ten different directions. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" He whispered in her ear, his breath tickling. "It's not like we're bunch of voyeurs or anything. It's like watching art come to life…I can't define it….John…what are you doing?"

The man in question was slowly planting warm kisses down her neck, his hands gripping her shoulders. "Strange things happen under the Jellicle Moon…" he murmured, his fingers working at her shoulder blades. Alicia glanced around, calm, but with her stomach fluttering, to see Drew and Veerle wrapped in each others' arms, though both were in committed relationships. "John…you're gay…"

"Well, normally Jake's here, but that doesn't mean I don't care about you, too." John said, his hands roaming to her waist and pulling her against his stomach. Alicia couldn't deny she'd harbored a major crush for the man, and his hands and mouth felt amazing, his lips warm over hers…but this wasn't right…at least, not right now, though she couldn't place or imagine why.

"John…wait."

"Mm?"

"Oh, I've got to be crazy for this…but I just can't."

"Are you okay? …I wouldn't hurt you, and I'm clean…"

"I know John…but I just…it doesn't feel right…not this time." Her face went deepest scarlet as she looked way, but John smiled at her kindly, holding her face in his hand and kissing her cheek gently, understanding. "Maybe next time, huh? Maybe with someone else? Someone you truly care for, that's not just going a little crazy in the moonlight, hmm?"

"Maybe…but why? I don't understand…why?"

"Strange things happen under the Jellicle Moon, and there's nothing like being part of this in the arms of someone you care for…but I'm sure you'll find that out later on, love."

"Are you okay?" Cici asked, though she was able to feel just how not okay he was through both their sets of jeans. John grinned in an obscure way.

"I will be. Erm…you don't mind if I just...you know…hold onto you for a while, do you?"

Alicia shook her head, and allowed John to pull her against his stomach, spooned up against her back with is arms wrapped tightly, and rather protectively, around her. The two lay in silence, letting the music and its' gentle melodies drift them away into that state of near sleep where one is at perfect rest but is perfectly aware of all going on around them, the in-between sleep of children and cats that so many lose the ability to attain as they age.

Alicia lay there for what seemed like days, and only a moment, before the music slowly picked up, and newly mated cats and very rumpled humans made their way back to wherever they had been before the Jellicle Moon had driven them to their wonderful madness. Embarrassed words were heard but faded into the background as the cats continued to sing, their voices raised to the tribe and the Heaviside Layer and Old Deuteronomy, some hoping for a second chance, others only recognition.

Skimbleshanks made his appearance, much to the joy of the younger cats, who always loved his exploits, which changed and grew grander every year in the telling. The former Old Gus set up a roaring performance of Growltiger's Last Stand, narrating with ferocity as Tugger and an unknown Siamese tom half his age took the parts of Growltiger and Genghis, the sword battle raging for a vigorous half hour before Growltiger-Tugger fell to his 'death.' Jellylorum and Etcetera sang a funny little song that reminded Alicia of a seafarers' shanty, Grizabella sang a ballad, because she liked them and not because she actually needed the sympathy this time around. Coricopat and Tantomile sang a rather sad yet oddly humorous Irish-sounding lament. Perry, after fighting down a vicious coughing fit, led the older toms, Munkustrap, Skimble, and Gus included, in a raucous drinking song, the dance making fun of the effects of the drink, many sound effects thrown in for good comedic measure.

Several other cats sang, in pairs, groups, or solo, but as the sky lightened and the stars began to fade, Alicia felt the vibrations in the junkyard changing. Macavity made no appearance this night, and there was no tinge of fear in any mind, but random names shot through her brain even during the songs. Jellicle names, many of which she didn't recognize or was sure she could even pronounce properly, but a few she did know appeared, Perry and Old Deuteronomy among them. She looked confusedly back at John, who nodded, assuring her that he heard them too.

As dawn drew nearer, the names shrank in number, almost as if a debate was whittling down something. Alicia realized this must be how cats were chosen for the Heaviside Layer, if no last minute pleas were made.

Slowly, the names were whittled down to only a few, Perry's among these last few, Alicia praying silently to some unknown spirit to let his be the last name remaining.

It was.

The younger Asparagus stood in surprise, his face blank and yet somehow pleased. Cats swarmed around him, saying good luck and saying goodbye, for no one ever knew for sure if a cat sent to the Layer would return. The older tom received them all in silent merriment, his heart bursting, but still confused as to how he'd even become truly considered. When he saw the tearstained face of a little blond dancer, he knew the answer lay, somehow, in her.

Asparagus drifted over to Alicia, who was now standing, and wrapped her in a gentle hug. Jellylorum did the same before Old Deuteronomy came up behind them and put a paw on Perry's shoulder. "It is time, old friend." he said quietly as he took Perry's shoulder and led him away. Mistoffelees followed his father and the younger Asparagus up to the highest peak in the junkyard amid the voices of the cats. Faintly, the black cat heard Alicia's voice sing along haltingly, unsure of whether she was supposed to sing, but doing so anyway. At the summit, the black cat and his father joined hands, Asparagus under the pyramid of their arms. A blue light shone over Mistoffelees and a white one over Deuteronomy. The white in the tux's coat faded, even his face growing black, and all color faded from his father, leaving a statuesque figure in regal shining white fur where the humbler leader had once stood. The blue light passed out of Mistoffelees and into the arms of his father, before the black cat collapsed, his white returning and spreading until he was as pale as his sister.

The white Mistoffelees slipped away, conscious but weak, drifting through the crowd of cats as he turned to watch. As the first pink rays of dawn began to peer over the Junkyard, and the hidden forms of buildings began to once again shadow the enclave, Deuteronomy placed his hands on Perry's face. Nimbusing white light and spiraling blue shifted from the astonishing white form of the leader to the dull coated tom who's face he held. Slowly Deuteronomy's color returned as the light bleached away Perry's brown and grey coat. The moment the last hint of color left his fur, Perry curled into a ball, only to begin floating away, his form lifted by some invisible force. He stayed stationary over the singing cats for only a moment before his limbs flew out, and with a soft white haze, he began to dematerialize, his body separating into its individual elements and diffusing into the air over the cats' home. With a final wink of light, he was gone.

Alicia felt tears stream down her face and a burning lump fight with her voice as she watched wordlessly the death or rebirth of her friend. His dissolving light-struck form held her eyes, and her ears were deaf to almost all else when a gentle tenor voice pierced through the deafening roar of her silence. Mistoffelees stood beside her, his fur already returning to normal, a smile on his face as he sang with her. Tears threatened to escape the rims of his own eyes, and his hand was warm in hers, their intertwined fingers buzzing as their voices floated away in unison, singing Perry to his next life. When the last trace of what had once been Asparagus the Younger faded into the day, and Deuteronomy was slowly singing something that Alicia couldn't quite hear, Mistoffelees took Alicia in his arms and rested his head on hers as she wept, knowing it had been wonderful for her, but hard as well. Cats began to file out of the yard, the Ball over for another year. Most would stay in the city long enough to see if Perry would return, but some had to leave immediately. Mistoffelees sat with Alicia into the true morning, allowing her to recover before he took her home.

"Will he come back or is he…" she asked as they walked to her apartment together. Mistoffelees smiled a sad smile.

"That's all up to him now, whether he comes back or not. There's never any real way to tell."

"I just don't understand…how…is this magic?"

"We don't really know. Some think it is, some think it's just the gift of the Everlasting Cat. Some think it's just a chemical reaction or something like that. We don't know. But when they separate…something keeps their mind alive…something lets them come back, as kittens or in refreshed, healthy bodies. We don't know, Alicia. I don't think we're meant to." Mistoffelees explained in a hushed voice. No one _did_ know, and he preferred the mystery.

Alicia walked with him, tucked into his chest against the tears and the cold, before looking up at the Jellicle whose arms were wrapped around her. "Misto?"

"Yes?"

"I've never believed in God. I couldn't comprehend some supposedly loving creator just abandoning us to our own devices with no knowledge of what comes after, with nothing but blind hope."

"But…?"

"Would it be wrong for me to love the Everlasting Cat, even though I'm human?"

"No," Misto said, a smile hovering on his features "No, I don't think it would be."

They reached her apartment building in silence. Mistoffelees put a tiny spell on her to help her fall asleep, and said his goodbyes tiredly, the smile he'd gained earlier not leaving as he watched her put the little microphone away for the next day. He left, shutting and locking the door for his friend as he went, his stomach uneasy at what she had asked. But humans had worshiped cats once, long ago, so he could not see where there would be any harm.

_The Next Day_

Alicia was stretching out on the floor, using Jake as a partner and chatting with him, asking how Julia was (she was fine) and describing the Ball. Jake listened with interest, because every one so far had been different, and this had been the first he'd missed. Just as Alicia was beginning to describe Perry's ascent, tears in her eyes again, a ruckus sounded at the door.

Perry, looking thirty years younger and healthy, the only real change to him being a lot more brown in his coat, stood at the door, an awkward smile on his face. Jellylorum held his arm, looking ten tears younger herself, all the worry she'd silently carried for so long gone at her mate's healthy return.

Alicia leapt from the floor and tackled the tom in a monstrous hug, beyond happiness that he'd returned. Understated as ever, Perry hugged her back and patted her on the head, saying, "I'm glad I'm back too." Alicia nodded and began to go back to her stretches when Jellylorum caught up with her.

"Thank you," the pale queen whispered in her ear. "You spoke up when he wouldn't, and for that, thank you."

Alicia didn't know what to say, but for the rest of the week, nothing ruffled her feathers at all. Her happiness was simply too strong.

Mistoffelees was glad for her happiness, and only worried slightly at the little tinge of jealousy he felt at not being the one to provide it. But that was alright. He knew she would always be his friend.


	9. Chapter 9, Romantical Cats

**Chapter 9. Romantical Cats**

It was a week before the human holiday of Christmas, and the set was buzzing, even though it was lunch time. Admetus and Cassandra sat waiting at the doors of the makeup room. The two were watching as a group of actors went by, leaving for the break they had earned that day. A set of black feet peeped through, and the two waiting cats slid through the throng and Jellicled out beside their fellow Jellicle. Mistoffelees found himself being herded off by the two, and, seeing where they were leading him, asked no questions.

Alicia sat on one of the counters, practicing her hand juggling. Alonzo was cross-legged on the floor, doing regular juggling with four compacts and a cell phone, explaining how the hand tricks were done. Alicia accidentally dropped one of the glass balls on the patched tom's head when Misto greeted them.

"I just had myself marched in here; I hope I don't have to fix any more head wounds," he joked. They had been juggling all week. Alicia grinned, stuffing her gear in her backpack. "No, I don't think I could mess Al's head up any more." The tom in question stuck his tongue out at her and got up to leave, tugging his headfur at Misto as he went, grinning.

"Misto, I hate to ask, but I can't afford a vet visit right now, and I'm nowhere near trained enough to guess what's wrong. My cat's been acting strange the last couple of days. Could you come over and check him out for me? Please? I'm really worried. He's not old enough to be acting this weird unless something's wrong."

Mistoffelees quickly went over his plans to see if his was free, which he was. Magic was useful, but it made you a bit awkward sometimes. He smiled. "Sure. I have nothing else going on, and it is for a fellow cat, and a friend."

"Thank you, Misto. I'll just drive us both there after rehearsal. I know you can take care of yourself, but it gets kind of rough between my house and the junkyard."

Surprised that she worried about him, Misto agreed that that would be fine. They went their separate ways as he left to find lunch and she went off to stretch.

Alicia loved the set. It just brought out her inner five year old. She flew over the 'junk', doing cartwheels and round-offs, working on her flips and landing finally in a split. Her legs hurt a bit, since she couldn't wear the shoes while in costume. She got up and hitched her leg over the pipe, bending to touch her toes.

"Hey, Connors" came Bryn's voice from behind her. She groaned, but turned around. "Walters," she muttered, wondering what he wanted. He was leaning against the junk, _grinning_ at her. That was new. Alicia wondered what he was up to.

"Look, Connors, I've been a bit of an ass, I'll admit, but you are getting better. How'd you like to go do something sometime?" Alicia stared at him. He wasn't drunk, and as far as she could tell, he wasn't stoned either. "What?"

"You heard me. And it's not every girl I ask, so you should feel flattered."

Alicialooked up at him. '_Damn he's tall' _she thought as she shook her head. "I don't think so, Bryn. You might have a nice guy hidden beneath the sadistic bastard you normally are to me, but I don't want to got through the emotional turmoil to dig him out."

"Fine" Bryn sneered at her, wrinkling his nose like she was something on the bottom of his shoe, "There went your chance, but fine." Alicia watched as he walked away, trying to figure out what had just happened. It puzzled her for the rest of the day.

_Alicia's Apartment_

Mistoffelees sat on the couch while Alicia crawled under the TV stand to wrangle her cat. He caught himself staring at her rear-end a bit more than what he should have, considering the situation.

The cat was a huge thing, a tan tabby pixie bob/Maine coon mix with a full tail and gold eyes named Leary, (short for Legardemanx.) He was neutered and about six years old, and he was _pissed. _Misto held him, feeling strange about it until he looked into the cat's eyes, and it yowled at him for five full minutes. Then he understood.

"He's not sick." he said to Alicia, handing the cat off to her as soon as he could. "Oh, thank god. He hasn't been eating, and I don't know what I'd do if I lost him." Mistoffelees grinned as he watched her nuzzle the irritated animal. '_Alicia should have_ been _a cat,' _he thought to himself. "Well, like I said, he's not sick. He's pissed."

"Pissed?"

"At you."

Alicia looked hurt "What did I do?" she asked, sitting down, trying to pet Leary, who was being very standoffish. Misto counted the things off on his fingers.

"You've been disappearing for hours on end, you come back smelling not only like you've been around a bunch of human toms, but like you've been surrounded by cats he doesn't know all day, and now, you've brought one of the strange cats home." Alicia looked at him, an eyebrow up. Misto put his hands up in defense "Hey, his words, not mine."

"Anything else?" Alicia asked, looking not at Mistoffelees but at Leary. The cat stood with his front paws on her knees and yowled at her. Mistoffelees translated.

"'He hates you coming home when you've been around the human toms all day. He says the last one you brought home was mean to him. He hates you coming home smelling like unfixed cats…and he says that now you can't make up your mind, and you bring home something that looks like a Human tom, but smells like a cat, _and_ it's not fixed!'"

"Ouch. Sorry Misto." Alicia winced.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'd probably feel the same way if you were my owner…and that didn't sound right…" Mistoffelees winced back.

"That sounded jealous. Aww, poor Misto, is he jealous of the Leary?" Alicia teased, waving the heavy cat's paws at him. He blew a raspberry at her and bowed to the cat. Leary sniffed Mistoffelees, hopping onto his shoulders and crawling around every inch of him he could get to. Misto waited patiently, and Leary eventually laid down in his lap, purring. Alicia patted her cat's head, dumbfounded.

"I thought he didn't like you."

"He decided I was okay, and the bow didn't hurt either. Cats are entitled to a bit of respect, you know."

Alicia wrinkled her nose at the reference. "No, never heard that. Do you think it'd be okay if I brought him on set, let him get to know other people, see they're not all bad?"

"I don't think it would hurt."

"Well…I've got plans for tomorrow, at least."

There was a mutual sigh, followed by an awkward silence, the only noise Leary's purrs. They carefully avoided each other's eyes, not entirely sure why they were doing so. Mistoffelees took a cursory look around Alicia's apartment. He'd been there before but never really looked at the place. The bedroom and bath were walled off in the back, and the kitchenette took up a corner. There was a thin wall partitioning off the main living room from the one they were in. The main living room was empty but for a few sawhorses and a litter of other hobbled together dance equipment. The wood floor was polished and well cared for, and Misto could tell that this was where Alicia practiced. The shoes he had made for her sat on the table. The tux tom grinned, and awkwardness and a streak of spontaneity combined to force his next words from his mouth.

"Want to go ice skating?" he asked, not having a clue where the question had come from. Alicia smiled at him. "You know, I've lived here for four years and never been? Let's go." They went to the rink at Grand Central Station, renting skates because neither one owned any. Misto hadn't even bothered to glamour himself to look human, and since posters of the returning musical festooned the city, there were constantly fans in costume running around. No one noticed he was a Jellicle. He and Cici had laughed on the way, cracking jokes at each other in the van.

They had been on several 'dates' before, but someone from the cast or one of the cats had always gone along with them, just so they wouldn't have to deal with the teasing. Misto had long since made up his mind that Alicia was _staying_ on the cast, and if he had to give up some time to convince her parents that they really were 'together,' it was no skin off his nose. In truth, he enjoyed the excursions into the human world. When he had to help fund the junkyard, he was all business, and other than that, he had no reason to go out in a human guise. This gave him a reason, and he found he liked some of what her world had to offer. The movies were nice, the museums intriguing, and, despite the embarrassing situation that had occurred there, the Karaoke bars were fun.

After a quick bite to eat from the vender, they went out onto the ice. Alicia had no idea what she was doing, but she learned where to set her balance quick, and only fell down a few times. She was clumsy, but she could stay on her feet, and was soon enjoying herself thoroughly. Mistoffelees was not so lucky. Unused to things on his feet, he found it impossible to find his balance. Two seconds on the ice and he was flat on his face. Irritated, he struggled to get back up, succeeded, only to fall backwards. He felt himself blushing as Alicia helped him to his feet, wobbling herself. The girl giggled, and he couldn't help the glare he shot at her.

"Come on, Misto. It's not so hard," she said, taking his hand, "just swing your arms and go." The black cat blushed with embarrassment as she showed him how.

Mistoffelees tried to follow her example, but his skate caught a burr in the ice and he pitched backwards, swinging his arms wildly before falling on his back yet again. Alicia helped him to his feet with the aid of a stranger, and wrapped an arm around his waist. "Maybe we should just stick together for a while," she smiled, her face pink from the cold. Mistoffelees cursed the skates, but placed his arm on her back to keep his balance. She was warm, and the wind lanced through his fur, so the tom felt only a little awkward when he edged in nearer.

For a few minutes, they managed to toddle awkwardly around the rink, silly smiles of accomplishment plastered to their faces. Then Alicia let him go, spinning him around as she encouraged him to go off on his own. He held his feet for a few seconds, doing a shaky turn around her as she shuffled in place. He had almost completed the circuit when he lost his balance. They landed together, Mistoffelees on top of her as Alicia laughed. There was a silence as they looked at each other, nose to nose. Belatedly realizing the position they were in, Misto flushed scarlet and struggled to remove himself, the skates not helping.

Alicia scooted out from under him, a blush spreading over her nose in the most charming manner, and a puff of wind took her scent to his sensitive nose. She smelled of hot cider, warm clothes fresh out of the dryer, with the crispness of the snow and hints of grass after a rainstorm, along with all the commonly shared scent markers of humans and females. Mistoffelees shook his head to rid himself of both the flush and the other reactions his body as having to her, wishing he knew what was going on in his mind. Alicia helped him to his feet, and they made their fumbling way back to the benches. Alicia was scrunch faced, trying not to laugh at the situation, not realizing what was going on with the tom seated next to her.

Mistoffelees was beating himself up inside. _'She's human, you're a cat, and most of all, she's your friend! You shouldn't be thinking like this.'_

'_Ah, but you can't help but feel it, can you? You care for her, Quaxo, and your body knows it!' _said the side of his mind that took after Tugger.

'_Shut up!' _he told himself as he attacked the laces on the skates. Alicia grabbed them as soon as they were off, and came back with a smile and a bag of popcorn, which she promptly handed to him. "Here you go…always made me feel better when I goofed up in class." He smiled back with difficulty as he popped a piece in his mouth. He muttered thanks and swore about the skates, and how he couldn't get used to the heavy things on his feet. Alicia sympathized with him, and draped a friendly arm around his shoulder. She thought he blushed from the bad skating, and didn't notice her touch make him go redder. Mistoffelees was just glad to be sitting down.

They ate at a nondescript little place near the theatre before making it back to Alicia's place. It was snowing fiercely and Alicia had not wanted her friend out in this. Mistoffelees, still uncomfortable about what was going on in his head, said he could just magic himself to his home, but Alicia had been adamant.

"Uh-uh, mister. I am not gonna scrape your frozen self out of a pipe or den because you were too stubborn to listen to me. It is _freezing_, and your magic has been acting weird lately."

Embarrassed that she had noticed that, he groused. "I'm fine. I know how to control it, even if it is a bit haywire."

"I know you do," Alicia said, concern in her voice, "but you're my best friend. Just bear with me, for my sake if nothing else. Please?"

Alicia nodded happily when he conceded, and soon they were laughing at each other's exploits on the ice.

They forced their way through the fire escape door of Cici's apartment (the stairs in the old building were being worked on), stomping snow from themselves and shoving each other playfully. Alicia tossed her boots to the side and ran to her bedroom to change. Mistoffelees dried himself off with a bit of magic, and to cover up the smell of wet dog that her window mat threw off for some reason, zapped to life a wick of cherry incense. The Jellicle flopped on the couch and ran a hand though his headfur, wondering idly where his mind was going. Alicia joined him, doing a ridiculous imitation of his skating falls on her way. He lashed his tail around her wrist and dragged her onto the couch, making faces at her as she dropped, cackling.

"I still can't believe it! You, the most graceful of all the Jellicles, and you-haha-you can't even stay up two minutes!"

"Yeah, well…pblblbrpblpbl!" he shot back, blowing a raspberry. Alicia burst out laughing at his loss for words, her head thrown back, and Mistoffelees found himself suddenly silent.

Not for the first time that day, he felt himself staring at her. He couldn't help himself. He traced with his eyes the line of her pale neck down into the low cut sweater she had thrown on. The movement of her throat as she laughed entranced him, and the way her chest bounced under that loose sweater…he shook his head, trying vainly to get his thoughts out of his mind. Her body wasn't what he would call classically beautiful, but it had it's own unique charm that he quickly realized was driving him crazy. Her scent was intoxicating, and the tuck of her waist and the swell of her hips…he felt as if he had never noticed her before, and suddenly a veil was lifted from his eyes.

The pale curve of her neck seemed to mock him, and he glared at it intensely, trying to fight down his feelings. As if sensing his gaze, Alicia stopped laughing and looked at him, her face pink and her eyes bright.

'_Everlasting Cat' _Misto thought, _'she's beautiful.'_

"Misto…what's the matter…you got so quiet, did I say something wrong?" she asked, concerned over his silence. He shook his head, trying to reassure her. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt like this for anyone, the last time he'd wanted to touch someone so badly, and feared he'd betray his forbidden feelings if he tried to say anything. Her name was all he managed to get out. "Alicia…" he muttered quietly.

She turned away from a demanding Leary and faced him, a quizzical expression on her face from his tone. The expression was so catlike, Mistoffelees decided right then to throw caution to the wind. He immediately cupped her face in his hands and captured her mouth roughly, his eyes closed as he prepared for the slap he knew he deserved..

Alicia's eyes widened with shock, and for an instant she struggled against him. A miniscule jolt passed through her lips, one she had felt twice before, at her parent's home and when she'd gotten tipsy at the karaoke bar. Something in that jolt moved deeper and suddenly, the shock and the struggle were replaced with excitement. His lips on hers felt right, and how often had she said to herself, _'if only he were human?'_ She leaned into the kiss, bringing her arms around his neck and pulling him closer.

When Alicia didn't immediately pull away, Mistoffelees opened his eyes. Hers were half lidded and looking into his, an odd mixture of confusion and trust swimming in them. His whiskers tickled her face, teasing her as he held her, and to his pleased surprise, she didn't resist when he deepened the kiss. He explored her mouth, taunting her, enjoying the way she shivered when he raked the barbs on his tongue over her teeth.

His hands made their way under her sweater, and he drug them slowly up her sides, playing with her ribs, his claws just scraping her skin, sending thin lines of fire where they went. She dropped her hands down to his back, digging her nails into the fur on his shoulders. A rumbling purr burgeoned in his chest as he arched his back. His hands moved to her stomach and back, and with a light push, he was on top of her. They gasped for breath in unison the first time their lips parted. Mistoffelees did not take her mouth again, but trailed kisses down her neck, along her collarbone, lingering at the hollow of her throat. He nibbled at the slight bit of extra flesh there for a moment, elated that she wasn't emaciated like so many dancers, that her body had plenty of soft places for him to hold onto and bite. His hand moved out from under her sweater to swiftly unbutton it, and she rose to allow him to tear it away. He glanced down at her, and her fingers curled around his bowtie to pull him into another scorching kiss.

Alicia refused to think about the fact that he was a Jellicle and she was human, refused to think about magic or musicals or consequences. For now, there was only here, and Mistoffelees, and that was enough.

With a deft flick of his wrist, he unclasped her bra and flung it away. He trailed kisses down her jaw, the other side of her neck and shoulder to right over her heart. Where he felt the strongest heartbeat, he bit down gently, just enough for Alicia to feel his teeth. She arched up against him, and he used the opportunity to hook his hands into her waistband. She ran her hands down his sides as he removed her leggings, making him shiver in delight. He stole a look at her panties, and chuckled wickedly, the irony and silliness of the tiny silken things not lost to him. Silver moons paraded on the elastic and sugary cute kittens danced on what little material there was. They too disappeared.

Alicia drifted her hands across the planes of his stomach, aiming lower, when her fingers hit something close to her goal.

"What the…" she whispered, looking up at Mistoffelees. A flushed, bashful smile took over his face as she asked "Are you wearing spanks? What the hell?"

He rubbed his neck awkwardly "Yeah…decency precaution, you know, 'cause we're doing all the stretches and dances and everything, and humans are…well…it was Jellylorum's idea."

"Ah" she said "Take them off."

"Huh?"

"It's not fair that I've got nothing on and the Cat gets clothes. Take them off."

Mistoffelees kicked himself as he stood. He hadn't thought this far ahead, hadn't thought they'd get so far, and now she would know. Too involved already to not obey her request, he looped his thumbs into the waistband. "Fine," he mumbled. "Just don't laugh at me for my size, okay?"

Alicia nodded, smiling sweetly and crossing her heart endearingly. Misto pulled the things off, the spell that camouflaged them leaving as they went. He stepped away and stood before her, shuffling uncomfortably. Alicia let out a small gasp as she realized the total of his endowments, blushing but unable to look away. Mistoffelees took it the wrong way and spun away, crossing his arms defensively.

"I know, just don't start laughing. I know I'm small."

"Compared to _what_?" Alicia asked incredulously as she stood. "Misto…" a grin could be heard in her voice. She thought he was kidding.

"Don't patronize me!"

"Misto…" Alicia whispered, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I'm not. I…" He rounded on her, hurt in his amazing mismatched eyes. Alicia realized he wasn't joking around. "You honestly don't realize…Misto, if you're small, I'd be scared to see what the rest of the toms are like!"

"What are you talking about?" he spat, glaring. He had wanted to sweep her off her feet, and here she was, mocking him. She looked at him, puzzling how to explain what she wanted to say without embarrassing him further. "Misto…remember when me and Phyllida and Fergus and Karl were all goofing around backstage and we all ran out red as tomatoes?"

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"Just bear with me, please. We-we walked in on Tugger and Bomba, and for some reason, Tugger freaked out and jumped up…and we all saw _everything._"

"You are not helping by talking about _him._" Mistoffelees felt more foolish than ever. Alicia grabbed his arm and spun him around to face her. He couldn't help but notice the way her breasts bobbed as she moved and spoke.

"Will you just listen to me for a minute, Mistoffelees?" she hissed, searching for the right euphemism. "Tugger's a big cat, so it just makes sense with him, but you…you aren't that tall or anything…Put it this way," she said, blushing. "You're giving Tugger a run for his money, and it looks like you've got more cash on hand!"

"But the others…they just smiled and promised to keep it secret…" Misto said, looking confusedly in her eyes. He'd placed his hands on her bare shoulders at some point, he'd missed when. Her eyes lit up with realization and she put a palm on his face carefully. "Misto…you're shy…you've always been shy, haven't you? They knew that. They must have known that the attention…if everyone put you in the same running as Tugger…you'd hate it."

"But…it doesn't make any sense…Alicia…" Misto stammered as he tried to make sense of it, feeling stupid. It wasn't like he went around comparing with other toms…but to not have known _that_…had he deadened his nerves with magic _that_ much…he shook his head, not knowing what to think.

Alicia held onto him, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist as he stood, pondering bewilderedly. Slowly, his body reacted to her presence, and he looked down at her, confusion written all over his face.

Mistoffelees felt the fog leave his mind as he saw Alicia's bright eyes shining up at him. Something about their hazel depths trapped him, and a flood of longing crashed down his spine. "Alicia…" he said again, crushing her against him and capturing her mouth, just as roughly as before, every reckless desire rekindled as he kissed her. He knew he shouldn't be there, doing what he was doing, but the ever responsible Jellicle could not have cared less.

The snow storm outside knocked out the electricity as he held her, and neither one could ever remember just how they had made it to the bed. Mistoffelees laid her down gently, trailing kisses down her throat and across her shoulders, fire following where his lips went. He kissed her heartbeat, and nibbled at the flesh between her breasts. He cupped one in his hand, carefully rubbing his palm over her nipple, taking the other in his opposite hand and twisting it gently in his fingers. She sighed contentedly beneath him, leaning into his attentions.

Alicia felt the tickle of his fur on her skin, the heat in her chest rising as he toyed with her. He was more beside her than on top, and she ran her calf against his thigh, finding another sensitive spot that made him shudder. She stayed there, and he punished her, moving his mouth to one of her breasts and suckling. She gasped as he rasped her with the barbs on his tongue, and a tiny cry escaped when he bit down. He stopped, looking up at her in the dark, making sure he hadn't hurt her. She nodded, and he paid the other breast similar attention. Alicia brought her arms around his neck, burying her hands in his hair and finding the backs of his ears.

The touch to his ears spurred Mistoffelees forward, and he grew braver, his hands mapping every inch of her body as he reclaimed her mouth. She shivered wonderfully when he burrowed his hands into her hair, or stroked the underside of her leg. The area just under her ribs was especially sensitive, and he danced his claws over it, repositioning himself so the ruff on his chest brushed over her ever so lightly. Alicia found a few spots of her own. Gliding her hands along the planes of his tight stomach made his back arch, and she forced a purr out of him by burying her fingers into the fur on his chest and kneading. Just at the base of his tail was a spot that made him freeze with tension, his muscles quivering.

The black cat slid lower, kissing her waist, and her navel. His hand glanced the inside of her thigh softly, moving her legs apart. Tenderly, he traced the outline of the cloven spot, smiling as he heard her breath catch. He held onto her other thigh, his lips resting in the hollow spot between her waist and hip, his hand caressing her warm folds, letting her open to him on her own. Her delicate musk came to him, nearly driving him mad. _'She smells like a queen in heat!' _He thought as he groaned elatedly. He stroked the inside of Alicia's thigh with his other hand as she swayed beneath him. He found the node beneath the petals, and rolled it deftly in his fingers. She cried out, arching against him as he nipped it between his claws, careful not to cut the tender skin. Still kissing the hollow of her hip, he moved lower, releasing her for a moment. Careful of his claws, his fingers found her, and she rocked against him as his tongue and claws scored into her sensitive flesh, never hurting, sending nameless sensations racing through her body. Mistoffelees heard her call his name softly, struggling for breath under his ministrations. He felt the slight pain as she dug her hands into his hair, the only thing that seemed real to her just then.

With a final shudder, Alicia fell back against the pillows, disoriented patterns flying behind her eyes as she panted. Mistoffelees moved atop her, resting his weight to the side. All she could see was the outline of his face and his luminous mismatched eyes. His fangs gleamed from what she was sure was a smug grin. She pulled him into a kiss, tasting her own salt on his lips as he resituated himself. His erection brushed, strong and thick, against her thigh, and they both shivered at the contact.

Mistoffelees froze in the middle of the kiss as Alicia's hand encircled him and she pushed her shoulder into his ribs, forcing him to flip onto his back. His lips broke away as he stammered,

"Alicia…What…are you…doing?"

"My turn." she whispered lowly as she kissed the tip of his nose. She taunted him, letting him go to rake her hands over him, digging her nails into his chest and stomach, dragging the fur on his legs up the wrong way maddeningly. She ran her hand underneath him, following a vein, gently flicking a ridge with her nail. Her fingers fondled him teasingly for a few moments, and he punctured holes in Alicia's sheets as he gripped them, his breathing growing heavy as his head lolled back. He jerked up in surprise when he felt her lips embrace him, and he let out a low moan as she took him in. He felt his heart race as she traced his shape with her strange, smooth tongue, finding every line, every ridge, caressing him and glancing him enticingly with her teeth. He couldn't help but thrust his hips as she drew him in, each pull feeling like something gripped him deep in his stomach. He gave a ragged cry as she drew his finish from him, but somehow found the energy to roll her back underneath him.

Mistoffelees held Alicia for a small time, his head cradled on her chest, their legs entwined. She clung to him as well, sharing his warmth. The storm had quieted outside, and the full moon shone hazily through the window. They drew their hands along each other, finding every area that made the other start or twitch or gasp, and their lips never parted once they had met again.

Alicia felt Mistoffelees grow hard against her, and sank back into the bed, a tiny whimper caught in her throat. The Jellicle felt it, more than heard it, and looked up, leaving off kissing the hollow of her collarbone. Something had shifted in her eyes, and he saw it. The smallest glimmer of fear shone in the moonlight, and he felt a twinge of guilt for pushing her so far.

"Alicia," he murmured, his voice husky, "we don't have to do this if you don't want to. We don't have to go any further than this, if you aren't ready. Just tell me when to stop."

She looked up at him, the moonlight shining behind him, nimbusing his fur to blue. She wasn't afraid, she wanted him just as much as he did her…but he was a cat, and he was built differently.

"It's not that…it's just, well…you're a cat…"

"Last time I checked," he grinned, trying to make her feel more at ease. He felt her skin grow hotter as she blushed. "That's not what I meant," she groused as she wove her fingers unobtrusively into the ruff on his arm. "But you're built like a cat…reactions to different things might be…I mean…what about…spurs?"

He shook his head as her words sunk in. "Oh, no...no no no, they're gone, they go away…I'm fine…"

"Alright…um…" she hesitated. She had to, Mistoffelees was busy distracting her as he nibbled her earlobe. He kissed her up her face, ending at her nose before asking what the matter was. "What about, you know, protection?" Mistoffelees grinned, closing his eyes for a second and muttering something. He whispered something else, releasing the spell on his own body that numbed his nerves. He wanted her protected, but he wanted to feel this, his magic be damned. He grinned. "It's okay. I've got a spell, I'm as good as neutered, and we're both clean, so…"

"O-okay…" Alicia stammered, looking away to the side.

"Cici…if you aren't sure…" he murmured, trying his hardest not to loom over her, not to threaten her. She seemed so frail all of a sudden.

"No…just…just do it fast, the first time, okay? It's been a while…get that first bit of pain over with quick…you know?" Mistoffelees shook his head; she looked terrified. "No." he said adamantly. "I'm not going to hurt you." He bent over her until their foreheads touched. He couldn't see into her eyes as well this way, but the contact felt good. "I'm not going to hurt you, Alicia," he said again, before kissing her gently. He shifted his weight, and Alicia nodded her consent, her eyes peering blindly into his.

Mistoffelees took her mouth, kissing her carefully as his hand trailed down her side, longing evident in his touch. He repositioned himself, the head of his arousal brushing against her. Both shuddered at the contact. Unable to hold back any longer, he guided himself in slowly, his breath catching as Alicia's body embraced him. The kiss broke as her head fell back onto the pillows, a gasp, half pained and half astonished escaping from her lips.

Mistoffelees felt every spasm that passed through her, every miniscule shudder and twitch as her body adjusted to him. He barely managed to gasp "Are you alright?" Alicia pulled his face to hers, not needing to answer. He pulled back and then moved within her, the hot enclosure of her body spurring him forward, until she held him completely, both of them quivering. He watched her eyes flit closed as she moaned, her hands holding onto him tightly. He moved again, keeping the pace slow, determined not to hurt her, determined to make her squirm and scream for him. His hips fit in the hollows of hers perfectly, and he couldn't help but be more aroused by that, and with every thrust, he stayed there for just a moment, relishing in that fact.

Waves of heat spiraled through Alicia's body as Mistoffelees moved inside her, touching places she hadn't been sure she could feel. He filled her completely, the pain his size caused shifting into a molten intensity that stole her voice, forcing her to call out his name in an enraptured whisper. In a move only a cat could accomplish, he removed her hands from his back and held them over her head, and she let him, trusting him totally and leaving her restraint behind. She shifted around him, moving, tensing, experimenting, seeing what drove him mad. He moaned into her neck as she tensed around him, every muscle in both their bodies quivering with delight. She arched her body against his, accepting all of him as he whispered her name in her ear.

In a dash of boldness, Alicia shifted her legs and rolled on top of him, taking control with a muffled sigh. A groan escaped Mistoffelees' lips as she rode him, and his eyes glowed a feral green in the moonlight. He watched, half drunk with pleasure, as she moved over him, her eyes closed, the moonlight bathing her in silver light. She kneaded his chest and stomach instinctively, breathless moans creeping up her throat as she rocked over his rigid arousal. A tiny bead of sweat trickled between her breasts. Mistoffelees wrapped his hands around her waist and twisted up to lick it away. He saw the tiny striations on her stomach where she'd lost weight and stroked them, loving the softness of her skin there.

"No…Misto…" she whispered, sadly, worriedly, trying to push his hands away. He let her, frowning slightly, murmuring "Your imperfections make you perfect." He felt the few that were over her backside, and knew they looked like tiger stripes, and that thought only aroused him more. He rolled her back underneath him, attacking her neck as he drove into her, unable to slow himself as he took back control. His back arched and his hips moved as only a cat's could, and Alicia shuddered beneath him, panted moans torn from her throat as the pressure found hidden places and filled them with lightning and fire. Heat flooded her body, pooling at her center, waves crashing blindly through her nerves, each wave stronger than the last. She rocked beneath him, arching her back to meet him, each thrust forcing a cry. The purr that rumbled through his chest echoed in hers, forcing her heart to flutter. She felt every spasm the passed through his body, and cried out, almost silent, as he grew more forceful.

Mistoffelees groaned, the base of his spine on fire. His thrusts grew more erratic, more powerful, and he knew he couldn't last much longer. But he was determined to please her. His hand slithered down between them, and he pressed down hard on that tiny node before thrusting as hard and fast as he could. Alicia cried out, her muscles going taut as steel, her body quaking but her limbs frozen. She clutched around him, her legs holding his hips tightly. The searing pain in his spine broke free, and Mistoffelees cried with her, both caught in the thrashing waves of their shared climax. Electric blue sparks floated through Mistoffelees' fur and danced over Alicia's skin as the Jellicle gave up his control of both his body and his magic as his essence spilled into her. They burned on contact but didn't hurt, and Alicia was able to see Mistoffelees' face by their light.

The two sank down into a giddy exhaustion, Mistoffelees resting his head on her chest, her heartbeat and his own thundering in his ears before the Jellicle slunk underneath his partner to arrange her comfortably on his chest. He shared his body heat with her in the chill air of her bedroom, both languoring in the closeness of the other, and ignoring that the sheets were singed.

For a few time suspended moments, the black cat lay there, aware of every single part of his being, following the patterns on the ceiling as they moved, yet did not move. He heard the very air, and every inch of the apartment glowed to his eyes, through the patterns that flew blindly over them. Slowly, his sex-addled brain settled down into the wonderful, floating feeling that always followed, right before he normally went to sleep. Then, slowly, he felt the dampness seep through the ruff on his chest.

Alicia was crying.


	10. Chapter 10, Enigmatical Cats

**Chapter 10. Enigmatical Cats**

In a slow state of panic at the sensation of her tears through his fur, Mistoffelees shifted so he could see Alicia's face. 

"Cici, what's wrong? What have I done wrong?"

In the darkness, two silver stained eyes peeped trough his fur to stare blindly at his face, shame filling the darkened hazel orbs.

"I'm sorry Misto," came her whisper "I'm sorry…it's not…It's me…I…"

Worry thick in his voice, Mistoffelees gently asked "Cici, what is it?" before wiping away a tear with his thumb. She buried her head in his chest, holding to him tightly. He heard a muffled sob.

"Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it. Damn HIM. Damn Him, I'm so sorry!"

"Cici?" Mistoffelees asked, beyond confused and holding onto her tightly. Who had hurt her enough to provoke this? Whoever it was would pay for their mistake, he resolved. Alicia began to speak.

"Oh, Misto…I…" the words fell haltingly from her lips, unable to string themselves together through her tears as she wiggled away from the Jellicle to hug her knees further off to the side of the bed. "Oh, Misto, I don't know what to think!" she wailed.

A sudden stab of panic hit the black cat square in the chest and despite her words, he had to know if he'd actually created his worst fear.

"Was it-did I-Everlasting Cat-did I hurt you? What did I do wrong?"

Alicia shook her head. "Nothing. Nothing was wrong. Oh, Misto, it was wonderful…I just…I can't get him out of my head! Damn him! Damn him for being right! Damn him!"

"Cici…Damn who? What are you…I don't understand." Misto stammered in relief and concern as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. He was ecstatic he hadn't been the one she was cursing, but now he had to know who was. The blond laughed bitterly, hunkering into herself, covering her nakedness with her folded limbs.

"My-father," she spat sourly. "He always said I'd go and fall for whoever took the time to…to…make love to me. Misto…I…I don't quite know how I feel…I feel so safe around you, I care about you so much-I don't know if it's love, but it's strong, and I…but I don't-don't want him to be right I don't want to lose myself just because of the sex. I don't want to…to…" Alicia tried to finish whatever she had meant to say, but her voice betrayed her, and the leaden lump in her throat lodged there, closing her voice and forcing tears out of her burning eyes. Mistoffelees didn't know what to say. What was there to say to something like that? 

"Cici…" he muttered, sensing Alicia's own burning confusion and pain. She sobbed.

"I hate him! I hate him for what he said…what he's…he's…"

Suddnely, it all started to connect in his mind, but the black cat had to ask, this was too dangerous of ground to jump to conclusions.

"Alicia, what's wrong? What has he done to you?"

"Mistoffelees, you can read minds, right?" came her unexpected answer. She was shaking, and her tears were falling onto Mistoffelees' hands as he held up her head. 

"Yes…" he murmured hesitantly.

"Read mine. Please. I can't…I can't say it…"

"Alicia…it's dangerous…it hurts…are you sure you want me to?"

"Just do it. Please! I have-I can't go on not having it known but I-I can't say it, Misto!"

Mistoffelees pulled her against him and shushed her as he stroked her hair, rubbing her bare back as she cried. 

"Okay," he conceded warily "If you want me to…If you'll let me. Just hold onto me, and look into my eyes." He said, pulling away to stare into her own night blind lenses. He grounded himself to his body with the burning sensation of Alicia's touch, and let his mind slip into the void as the hazel eyes of the girl in front of him focused and grew a thousand times over.

Mistofflees fell into Alicia's mind, a ghost of himself floating in the dark spaces between memory and thought. The landscape of her brain was littered and ordered at once, light and dark shapes balanced bit more than normal. The bird shapes of her happiness fluttered by in small multicolored flocks, her recent memories bearing the brightest feathers, the best shimmering silver through the plumage, no matter their age. Boredom trailed sluggishly along, dull and grey and with no definitive shape, trying and failing to attach to faster thoughts. 

Mistoffelees wandered about in her mind, unsure of just what he was looking for, having to peer around labyrinthine walls Alicia had constructed over the years. Then he found it, completely by accident. Behind a wall, he found himself falling into a void again, this one holding the floating, blazing memory he had just helped to create. He saw again her moonlit gaze as the memory connected with his own. When he placed his hands around it, unable to resist, he felt what she had felt, the crushing dizziness, he spiraling pleasure and pulsing intensity and heat. The memory blazed an astounding bright blue, and electric blue, and beneath the surface, glints of gold could be seen.

Past its beauty, an ugly, vomit colored stain was spreading over one corner, trailing like knotted veins over the memory's shape. Mistoffelees followed it, reluctantly letting go of the wonderful memory to trail the stain back to a violent cage of memory-beasts trying to escape; creatures made of fangs and claws and bile and pure hate, gnashing and rending the bars of the cage, which were fast eroding. Out of the corner of his eye, the shadow-Jellicle saw Alicia's own mind-shade, huddled in a corner, a tiny blue knife made of bravery her only defense against the hoard. Fury invaded his mind as he saw her form fade to white with fear. Mistoffelees, strengthening the conncection to his body by making his body hold onto Alicia tighter, gave a roar and dove into the cage.

The beasts assaulted him, their teeth and claws feeling like fire and acid, the pain seeping into his brain, the memories it carried flooding his mind with memory and sensation not his own.

He saw Alicia crying, huddled in the floor of her room at her parent's home. He saw her, nude but for her panties, cooking as her father looked on, her exterior cold and her eyes dead numb, but her stomach ablaze with hate and confusion. He saw Alicia crying, naked and stiff as a board, laying on top of a bed, with her father under the covers talking to her, touching her with grazing fingers, sick adoration in his gaze. Mistoffelees felt every poke and prod and heard every crude comment and joke; felt the angry knot of pain and confusion that was eating way at Alicia's centre and spawning the beasts.

The conjuror exited the cage and furiously took hold of the pervasive vein and viciously ripped it away from the memory of their lovemaking. He wrapped the veins around the cage and formed a chain of bright red rage and magic. He found Alicia's store of righteous fury and his own and combined them, using the resulting material to build bright white walls, not stopping until a blinding building emerged: it had no windows, and only one door. The black cat formed a lock, and made the key out of Alicia's bravery and determination, which her mind shade handed to him before she stepped away, knowing she had no power against his own spell work. 

Before Misoffeleses closed the door, he stormed inside, blasting the memories to smaller and smaller pieces, until they were merely distracting for the girl and not depression inducing monsters. Then he shut the door, and built another wall of muted green serenity. He took Alicia's mind shade by the hand, and together, they moved the electric blue memory far away. They held onto it for one long, lingering second before Mistofelees let it go and closed his eyes, falling back into his own body .

With a gasp, the last of the mind link was severed, Alicia shivering, Mistoffelees still.

"He never touched me- not like he wanted to. He told me I was beautiful. Sexy. Told me…told me I was his-his true love-told me he wanted me. He didn't have to touch me…what he did…was enough."

"Cici…shhh…he can't hurt you now. He can never hurt you again."

"I've never told anyone. I just…you're safe, Misto. You make me feel so safe and I know, somehow I just know that you won't hurt me."

Mistoffelees swallowed, still processing all the things his mind was reeling from, all the magic he'd used and all he'd fought against that night. This was what the whimper had been. This was why she stayed so frightened around all the straight male cast. This was her pain, and she'd let him see her at her absolute most vulnerable. The girl who seemed to trust no-one trusted him. And the last thing he wanted to do was harm her, in any way. Slowly, he asked the question he'd been dreading since that first kiss.

"Are you…Should I leave? Will it be-easier for you if I go, less-painful?" He only wanted to protect her.

"No" she whispered, turning around in his arms so she could hold him, her head on his shoulder. "No. I…I need you here. Please stay."

Mistoffelees felt the ice cold block of apprehension that had formed in his chest melt away at her words, and he held her. He kissed the top of her head, tracing her cheek with his thumb and scooting down on the bed, pulling the sheets over them both. 

"I'm here." he whispered gently. He felt her smile as she settled deeper into his chest. "Thank you." she murmured, her voice sleepy as she burrowed her face and fingers deeper into his soft fur. He purred quietly, smiling as Leary jumped up, his luminous eyes gazing at Mistoffelees before he nodded and lay behind his owner, fusing himself to her back. Alicia cuddled even closer to Mistoffeees, and soon, her breathing evened out in sleep. Her eyes were swollen and puffy-red from crying, and the floating feeling had dissipated, but Mistoffelees smiled nonetheless. She was beautiful, because of all she was and not in spite of it, at least to him. 

The black cat's mind buzzed, full of new information and thoughts of the little understudy he could no longer call just his friend. Full of consequences and panic, and full of something intense and close to pain, but wonderful. He could not join his lover in sleep until well past midnight.


	11. Chapter 11, Quizzical Cats

**Chapter 11. Quizzical Cats**

_In which Tugger and Jake become insufferably snoopy bastards (but in a good way.)_

Alicia woke up the next morning bleary eyed, exhausted, still sleepy, and most importantly, naked. It took her a few moments to remember why. When the memory of the black cat and everything else finally came to the surface, she rolled over, her eyes closed, expecting Mistoffelees to still be there. When she rolled onto nothing but cold blankets, she opened her eyes, disappointment and hurt making their way into her heart. Leary got up and stretched behind her as she wrapped her naked body around the pillow where a few black hairs still lingered. Not quite making any coherent thoughts, her mind simply stuck on sadness and a few tears fell from her eyes before she heard the crunch of paper as Leary made his way to his morning trip to the litter box. Still sleep confused and sad, she picked up the note and read it three times before her brain began to work.

_Alicia,_

_I was going to wake you, but you looked so peaceful asleep I just couldn't do it. I don't know how awake you'll be when you get this, but just know that I didn't ditch on you. I don't want to hurt your feelings. I would have stayed, but there are a few things I'd rather not have the tribe knowing, and last night with you is one of them. I'm not ashamed of what happened, but let's just say we're breaking a few rules and leave it at that for now, shall we? I'll explain everything when the right time comes. Besides, would you really want to put up with Tugger if he heard?_

_I don't know quite what to say about last night. 'Thank you' doesn't cut it and sounds cheap besides. 'I'm sorry' is too unspecific. I suppose all I can say is that I'm glad you cared for me enough to allow me to get so close, when so much hurt was hiding behind your eyes. Feel free to speak with me or not, I'll understand. And even though it's not enough, thank you._

_Yours_

_Q_

_P.S. I left you a little something in the kitchen. Thought you'd appreciate it._

Alicia smiled as she read the note. It was a bit scatterbrained in the reading, but that was Misto, and she'd never had trouble following his thought process. Slowly, gritting her teeth at the huge pile of homework that lay stacked in the corner that was overdue, she sat up and scooted out of the bed, covering herself with the sheet to ward off the cold. She ran what she wanted to be a steaming hot shower and sat waiting for the hot water to kick on. While she waited, she read the note again. Misto's handwriting was terrible, and had an inflection to it she'd never seen before. She supposed it was because he was a cat, and what use had they for writing, really?

When the hot water whirred out of her shower with a gargling crank of the pipes, Alicia dropped the sheet, smiling momentarily as she noticed the singed edges and the fingertip patterned rips Misto had left there. She let the shower beat all the exhaustion out of her body, the hot water pounding on her shoulders as she washed her hair. She noticed several rather livid love bites on her body as she soaped up, and mentally went over how much concealer she'd need to hide those. Thankfully her underclothes would cover most of them, but there were a few, like the one just under her waist, or the two really close together on her hip, that she'd either have to hide or explain. She felt a tender spot on her neck, and smiled, remembering the things he'd whispered to her, though she hadn't really heard them at the time.

After her shower, she kicked on a space heater and sat in her under things for a few minutes, hiding the bites with the best concealer she had, knowing Wendy would kill her if any of the cheap junk stained her costume. She debated whether or not to get an hour of studying in, realized she'd missed her computer class deadline last night anyway, and shrugged it off, rolling up the bedthings to clean later and roaming to the kitchen for some breakfast and to sate her curiosity.

On the little kitchenette table sat a tiny statue of a cat. Black, of course, though the eyes were green. Under it's paw lay another note in Misto's awful handwriting.

'TOUCH MY NOSE' it read. Alicia looked at the little statue warily before giggling and obeying the note. With a rather impressive Poof! and a squeaked 'presto!' from the cat, the little statue disappeared, and before Alicia sat a plate of her favorite breakfast; a breakfast sundae with all her favorite fruit, including pomegranate and mango bits, and a single Egg Benedict on an English muffin. Across the sundae's glass lay a single rose the same color as Alicia's hair, with one red petal, tied with a black ribbon. As she touched it, gold script appeared on the ribbon. 'Read me after breakfast.'

Alicia played along, giggling like a teenager as she ate her breakfast, which was delicious. She was almost sorry to finish it, but somehow the spell had given her the exact right amount of food, and the taste lingered longer than normal. The sundae glass and saucer disappeared, to be replaced by the tiny cat once more. Impatient, Alicia took the ribbon from the rose carefully, and turned it over, following the flowing magic script with her eyes.

'For the girl who saved a Cat, loved a Cat, and chose to worship a Cat, a small token from the tom too dense to come up with anything better, but whom she cared for anyway.'

Alicia laughed at the words, but gasped as the ribbon grew hot in her hands. After a flash of light, she looked down at her palms. In them lay a solid gold ankh, with a cat sitting relaxed in its eye, the cat's eye a tiny topaz. Tears in her eyes now, Alicia roamed around her house looking for a chain to put it on, when suddenly one appeared around the neck of the tiny cat, also in solid gold. She looped them together and wrapped the chain around her wrist, knowing she couldn't visibly wear it to work.

Hurriedly, she pulled on something that wasn't too dirty (she really, really had to do laundry) and rushed to the door. A little black smudge on her couch caught her attention and before she left she investigated, to find Misto's bowtie undone messily and resting on one of the cushions. She tucked it in a pocket to return later in the day, a small smile still on her face as she remembered to harness up Leary for his first day on set and made her way out the door.

Mistoffelees slunk through the early light of the morning in cat form, dodging around cars and early risers and graveyard shift workers trialing tiredly home. Guilt at leaving Alicia alone in her bed ate at his mind, but he'd always been awkward with morning afters, and his awkwardness was not what she would need after everything that had transpired the night before. He wondered briefly why she trusted him so, but realized that it would probably never really make sense to him, and left the thought alone, leaving his mind to buzz over the rest of the night, and to wrangle with the knot of emotions he wasn't sure he could identify or deal with.

He snuck into Jake's house through the cat door and silently prayed that Jake had stayed in bed late, but when he saw the actor eating breakfast at 6 a.m. he knew both Jake and Shelby had had a long night up with Julia and just opted not to sleep. The four energy shots on the table furthered the evidence. Shelby saw him and picked him up as he slunk into the kitchen. "About time you got home, Mister. You know, Jake, we really should get him neutered. God knows what's going to happen one of these days when he's out tom-catting around." Jake snorted into his coffee, though Shelby of course didn't know why, and Misto was sure he was blushing in cat form, though he _knew_ neither of them could have known just how accurate Shelby was. Mistoffelees wriggled out of the woman's grip and yowled at her, a yowl Jake knew meant 'Oh, Hell NO!' in cat, though it was pretty obvious to anyone who'd ever had any sort of animal.

"I think he said 'no,' Shells."

"Well, I don't really want to, and I was actually looking forward to breeding him. Nothing's cuter than a batch of tux kits, but he's getting older, Jake. He's what, pushing past fifteen, at least? And he isn't the biggest cat in the world either. Heaven knows what he gets up to outside."

Jake and Mistoffelees shared a look at the news that Shelby had wanted to breed him. The 'Don't-laugh,-for-the-love-of-all-that's-holy-DON'T-LAUGH!' look. Misto hopped into Jake's lap and head butted his chin. Jake knew the signal.

"How about a compromise? I'll start taking him into work again, and see if he calms down. How about that?"

"Well, alright. But keep him away from Partridge's cat, for heaven's sake. That beast attacks him every time they see each other. Cat's gay, I swear."

Jake gritted though a laugh and nodded. "I'll see what I can do"

Mistoffelees and Jake got to the theatre late thanks to traffic, and thanks to that, Jake got shrieked at for a good five minutes by the camera guys and Misto missed Alicia arriving and getting ready and kept missing her for the next three hours. He resigned himself to waiting, and that's where trouble found him.

The Rum Tum Tugger wandered around backstage, bored and wanting someone to talk to since Bomba had gone back to her place to watch after Celly for the day. He found the perfect target to annoy lounging on a piece of the Growltiger set.

Mistoffelees lay on a banister of the pirate ship, his left arm and leg dangling off the side lazily and his tail flickering idly. Two halves of his brain were going at once and warring with each other; one side going over the previous night's events, feverishly wondering if Alicia was really okay, if she was still upset, or if he really had hurt her, while the other side replayed everything languorously, focusing only on the wonderful parts, and the parts where he had been able to help. The black and white tom was broken from his reverie by a heavy THUMP!

"My, my, someone's certainly in a good mood this morning."

Mistoffelees opened one eye lazily and grinned. "Mmm…just a nice day is all."

"Yeah, whatever. Come on, what's up with my little brother? Why so…languid?" Tugger asked, drawling 'languid' out suggestively as he smirked, knowing that relaxed demeanor a little too well. Mistoffelees opened his other eye and shook his head. "No reason-it's just a nice day." Tugger was about to make a snide comment about the foot and a half of snow outside, but raised a brow instead when he noticed something missing when Mistoffelees shifted his weight.

Tugger burst out laughing, a satisfied smile settling on his face when he calmed down. He gave his little brother a smutty smirk and chuckled, "I know what it is. _Somebody got lucky last night!_"

"No I didn't," Misto denied, ignoring his brother's annoying singsong.

Tugger's grin widened. "Yes you did."

"No, I didn't" the tux muttered flatly.

"Yes you did." bullied the Maine Coon, thoroughly enjoying their mutual descent into kittenhood.

"No. I didn't" Misto sighed.

"Did." Tugger laughed.

"No. I. Did. Not." The last word came out in a growl. Tugger's grin threatened to split his face as he leaned in uncomfortably close to Mistoffelees and flicked his nose flirtatiously.

"Did. Quit lying."

"I'm not lying." Mistoffelees choked out through his frustration and a blush. Tugger unfortunately knew how to push his buttons.

The Maine Coon sat back and sighed in a set upon fashion. "Yes, you are. Do you want to know how I know?" Mistoffelees found a large hand over his mouth before he could protest. Tugger's other hand was held up in his line of vision, counting up as Tugger compiled the evidence.

"One: you're denying it far too much. Two: you are _never_ this languid unless you've been up to something the night before. And three? Your bowtie's missing."

Mistoffelees felt the blood drain from his face, and instinctively reached up to feel for the silly little bow-collar he always wore. He felt nothing but fur at his neck. Tugger cackled at his reaction and clapped him on the back.

"Oh, come now, don't be so shy about it! How long has it been for you? Who'd you hook up with? You and Shocksy get back together?"

"No, and you know Electra _hates_ that nickname. Come on, Tugs, can't a tom have a bit of privacy?"

"Not unless you suddenly turn into Munkustrap and get Demeter to kick my ass. Come on, Misto, tell me. Who's the lucky girl?"

Misto seethed under his brother's innocent prying. It was his own fault he was being interrogated, but he could not tell Tugger who he'd spent the night with. For everyone's safety.

"Shut up, Tugger," was the only response he could think of as the rest of his mind panicked.

Tugger blinked at the rudeness. "The lucky boy?" He quested, knowing well enough that Mistoffelees had a Bi streak in him.

"_Shut up_, Tugger." his brother growled, hunching angrily. Tugger wrapped an arm around the tux and coaxed gently. "Come on, brother, just tell me. I'm not going to disown you for it, and I _refuse_ to let up. Who got to rumble in the sheets with the magician last night?"

"SHUT UP, Tugger!" Mistoffelees hissed, rounding on the other tom.

"Hiya, boys! Hi Tugger, hi Misto!" came a third voice, cutting in just as Mistoffelees prepared to hex his brother mute. The tux tom blanched when he turned to see Alicia coming towards them in her Electra costume. The arm warmer kept falling over her hand, and she adjusted it, a tiny glint of gold catching both toms' eyes. She plopped down between them, glowing with exercise and smelling of sweat and soap, taking a water bottle from the tail belt and drinking deeply. Tugger went to snatch the bottle and Alicia gave him a playful shove. Misto gritted his teeth before inconspicuously sneezing. Alicia turned to him and smiled ambiguously. "Oh, Misto, you left this at my place. Leary must have swiped it when he was on your shoulders. Thanks again for checking on him for me." Mistoffelees numbly accepted the little bundle of black silk she handed him, his face on fire. "What?" Alicia asked, quirking her head to the side the exact same way she had the night before. Mistoffelees blinked, saying a second too late, "Oh…nothing…I-I just hadn't realized I'd lost it. Thank you."

Alicia gave him a curious look, didn't see the eyebrows that were about to disappear into Tugger's hairline, and waved goodbye as Jillian called her back from the drink break. "Well, okay-Oh! Gotta, go! See ya! Look after Leary for me; thanks!"

Once the blond was back into the dance number and couldn't hear them, Tugger turned to Misto, his eyes wide and his eyebrows still in danger of disappearing.

"Alicia? You slept with _Alicia?_" the maned tom sputtered, genuinely surprised.

"Shut. Up. Tugger." Mistoffelees groaned though gritted teeth as he held his head in his hands. Tugger threw him a quizzical look that he didn't see.

"Why? Was it that bad?"

"Wha-? No!" Misto shot up, his mouth going before his brain.

"Bad for her?" Tugger asked, an annoyingly understanding look on his face. Even the best had off days, which was exactly the last thing on Mistoffelees's mind as words fell out of his mouth before he thought again.

"No!"

"Bad for you?" the understanding turned to sympathy.

"No!" Misto squawked before his brain finally kicked in and he gave up resisting what he knew from experience would be a rigorous interrogation if he didn't give in.

"No, Tugger. To be honest, last night was perfectly wonderful. And I can never talk or think about it again."

Tugger gave his brother a strange glance. Self-defeating as the little tux often was, it had been perfectly clear in Alicia's demeanor that he hadn't hurt her or irrevocably screwed up his chances at a second time, so why he was denying to even acknowledge what sounded like a good thing was beyond the older tom. When Tugger saw the mixed look of utter heartbreak and fury on his younger sibling's face, he grew even more confused. He'd seen that look and ones like it before, and he could feel the charge of nervous magic in the air. For Misto's own sake, never mind his curiosity, Tugger asked the one question he knew his brother didn't want to hear or answer.

"Why?"

Mistoffelees' head returned to his hands, and he sighed shakily. He'd known Tugger wouldn't get it, wouldn't remember. Slowly, the smaller tom spoke, careful and quiet so none could listen in.

"It-it's the laws, Tugger, the laws of the tribe! 'No Jellicle shall take a human mate, under pain of banishment, regression, or death.' I'm pretty sure that pertains to just sleeping with them too." Mistoffelees felt his stomach clench at those words, but the deep bark of laughter form beside him made no sense.

"Is that all?" Tugger cackled, giving Misto an incredulous look as he continued. "Misto, don't worry about it! Those laws are older than-older than Dad! And Bast knows how bloody old he is! A lot has changed for us in the last few years. Hell, Misto, the whole tribe broke the big one, the secrecy. The entire cast of the musical '_CATS_' knows about us, not to mention the film crew and the understudies whose memories you didn't wipe from last time! And if that weren't enough, Dad broke it before that by spilling the beans and letting Sir Eliot know and write the bloody poems in the first place!"

"But that can be forgotten!" Mistoffelees hissed. "You already mentioned the memory wiping, but Tugger, I can't do that to Jellicles. I physically can't, and taking on a human mate or lover is something that can't be ignored! It's the one rule that can't be broken, especially by me!"

"Why?" Tugger insisted. He was sure he knew the answer, somewhere in his head, but he couldn't quite remember _and_ wanted to make sure that his brother wasn't just trying to weasel out of a good thing. Mistoffelees looked at him desperately, his mis-matched eyes wide and wavering with the sting of tears.

"I'm his heir!" the tux cat gritted through his teeth. "I have to take over when Old Deuteronomy dies, or, at least I do until he has another son with magic or Macavity gets his brains back, which, judging by the way things are going, isn't going to happen anytime soon! And Dad hasn't had _any_ sons in a while, and it's unlikely he'll have another son with magic, the fact that he had two is amazing! Tugger…unless any of that happens, I'm stuck. I'm stuck leading the tribe when he dies, and I have to follow the laws more closely that anyone!"

Tugger blinked. He was so used to Old Deuteronomy and Munkustrap leading the tribe that he often forgot the duty of Jellicle leader would not go to his older brother, but to the younger, still timid tux beside him. Cautiously, Tugger wrapped an arm around Mistoffelees' shoulders and whispered "Well-brother, laws are meant to be broken; maybe this time can be an exception. She gets along with most of the tribe better than I do!"

"That's because she isn't trying to get into just about all of their pants, so to speak." Mistoffelees muttered morosely. Tugger couldn't resist-he hated when things got too serious. "No-just yours, apparently," the bigger cat snickered before turning serious again. "Misto, listen…It's not like-like you're the first one to break _that_ law either, anyways." He paused and rubbed his neck awkwardly here, "I mean, I slept with Rosemarie. Of course, we were both rebounding and completely plastered at the time, but that's no excuse for me to use to say I didn't know what I was doing. I knew she was human, and they didn't skin _me_."

"No, but you're the Brat Prince, aren't you? You can get away with it-you know you were one of the few that Dad could ever get away with spoiling or favoriting-me…I…" Mistoffelees trailed off as Munkustrap passed, giving his two younger brothers a cursory, none-to-pleased glance as he did. Mistoffelees hunkered over himself, his arms cradling his stomach, which suddenly found itself twisting in knots. Tugger squeezed his shoulder once Munkustrap was out of hearing distance.

"I…I don't know what to do. I've never felt like this-not even for you when you and I were-you know. I don't know how to explain it. I was so scared for her afterwards, Tugger. Everlasting Cat! I spent half the night last night sitting up after she'd gone to sleep, thinking of all the things that could happen to her now if we were found out! It took me all of five minutes to think about what could happen to me-but her…you know how cats are, and even if the whole tribe manages to magically accept her, think of how the humans would react! You know how intolerant they are! Or if Macavity found out…Bast, she'd never survive him, you know that, and you know he'd use her to get to me, you know he would! Tugger, I just don't know what's going on with me. I know this is a mistake, that I should just wipe her memory and go on, but I just can't. I just don't know what to do anymore."

Tugger sat back and took the confession in, knowing somewhere in his life he'd heard something like it before. When the memory clicked, he grinned, and returned to his interrogation.

"You're scared for her?" he asked, determined to find out just how strong his brother's feelings were on the matter.

"Yes! And I'm scared in general-I-I've never felt this way for anyone before, I told you. I don't know…if something happened to her because of me, because of this, I'd probably kill myself."

Tugger let out an involuntary hiss at the threat, seeing the melancholy truth behind it, knowing his brother did not say such things lightly. A warm patch of pride swelled incongruously in his chest as he replaced his arm on Mistoffelees' shoulders. He should have seen it, he inwardly berated himself. Tugger grinned, and muttered "You love her, little brother. You're in love!"

Far from calming the tux, the statement drove him to panic. Mistoffelees tried to extricate himself from Tugger's arm as he shook his head. That could not be true. It simply could not be, it was too dangerous for the both of them. "What, NO! I can't be! I can't-the law-I _can't_!"

Tugger groaned, despairing over how little confidence his brother had in himself. "Says who? Quaxo, look, I've already broken that law, so if they do something to you, they do it to me to, and we both know that isn't going to happen. I'm the favorite, and you're the heir. They can't kick you out or really _do_ anything to you as long as you keep that position. So we fooled around with a couple of human girls, so what?"

"But you just slept with Rosemarie, you didn't…fall in love with her. That's different. Tugger, what am I going to do?"

"You love her, right?" Mistoffelees gave him that desperate look again, tears threatening to spill from his mismatched eyes "I can't. She's human, I'm a cat. I _can't_, Tugger."

"But you do?"

Mistoffelees sighed before giving in and admitting what he should have realized that morning when he'd woken up with Alicia on top of him, her blond hair splayed out prettily over his chest, fingers tangling in his fur.

"Yes. But-but _why_?"

"Love's weird," Tugger shrugged. "We both know that. You don't pick it-it falls in your lap and there's nothing you can do about it."

"But I have to do something. What am I going to _do_?"

"You love her?" Tugger insisted, knowing if he kept pressing, Misto would find the answer out on his own.

"Y-yes."

"Does she feel the same way?"

"I'm not sure-I think she might, in time."

"Well, then, if she does now, or if she comes to it, that's all you need!" Tugger smirked, batting away the emotion rent air with his signature cockiness. "if things get crazy, just run with it, go with it. And if anything bad happens, or if this gets out of control, run with her, keep her safe, and me and Munkustrap'll handle the rest."

At the mention of Munkustrap, Mistoffelees' eyes grew wide again. This couldn't go any further, and Mistoffelees remembered better than Tugger precisely how closely Munkustrap held to the laws of the tribe.

"NO! you can't tell anyone, not even Munkustrap." the black cat hissed, panic lacing his voice. Tugger nodded, though he wondered why Mistoffelees didn't feel like informing their brother. "Alright," he said as he pulled Mistoffelees into an embrace. "I won't tell anyone, not even Munkus, okay? Just…just know that I'm happy for you. It's about time you fell for someone."

Glad that his secret would stay that way for a while longer until he could figure out what to do, Mistoffelees thanked Tugger for listening to him, and buried his face into Tugger's mane, a ply for comfort he hadn't taken since his kittenhood. The black cat wasn't sure if it was his brother's confidence rubbing off on him, or his own mind settling down from the roller-coaster panic and accepting his feelings, but a feeling of wellbeing was spreading through his chest. His mind played through the last twelve hours in rapid succession, and he focused on one thing-he had to speak with Alicia.

It was lunchtime for the actors, and as Cici shook the strain out of her muscles, she grinned. She'd done exceptionally well in all her routines today, and was quite pleased with herself. In her free moments, she mused over the previous night. She had a hard time not blushing when she looked at Jake in his costume, and couldn't look at the actual Mistoffelees without her face lighting on fire. It didn't help that half the time when she sat down, she was reminded of the night before, the wonderful bruised feeling making her legs tense and a shiver run up her spine. The mating dance scene with Jake had been particularly awkward, because they were choreographed together. She had looked everywhere but his eyes as they lay down in the Jellicle tangle, laying still with their legs twined in a way so that Jake could jump up easily. She'd never cursed Andrew so much as right then; he was going in for a load of camera angles, and milking his actors' discomfort for all it was worth. It didn't help that Karl was busy cracking inappropriate jokes quietly and griping about his breakfast burrito's effects on his stomach.

At the call for break, Alicia ran to find her cat, whom she found palling around with Cassandra and Tumblebrutus, both of whom were in cat form. She smiled at the two true Jellicles and strapped Leary into his kitty harness and leash and prepared to take him out with her. Jacob snagged her and the two dragged themselves to a nearby Wendy's for lunch, Leary in tow. Alicia flushed at the people staring at them because they were still in their Mistoffelees and Electra outfits. She followed Jake's example and just smiled and waved at them, laughing with pride when people recognized her rather insignificant character in the play.

Jacob grinned privately to himself, remembering how the last filming had been, with Andrew freaking out and having them wrap themselves up in trench coats to go out to keep from getting mauled on the streets of London. He watched as Alicia danced around on the sidewalk, twirling and twining her feet around that monstrously huge cat of hers, trying to keep off the New York December cold. Alicia had been lighthearted and carefree all day, more so than Jake had ever seen her. Not getting upset when she mis-stepped (which she had done less than usual as well,) and not rising when Bryn antagonized her. She'd actually been nice to the tall bastard. As he watched her, smiling enormously as she let a little Chinese boy and his mother pet respectively Leary and herself, he knew something was up, something positive, and when he tried to put his finger on it, he had a pretty good guess at what that something was. A certain tuxedoed tom had been drawing the understudy's eyes all day, she couldn't look at Jake himself without a slight flush, and even minute, accidental passing contact with the cat made her shiver.

Jacob ordered and took his food, regretting that he was a junk food junkie as he glared at the extra-large chocolate shake on his tray. He had to choke back a laugh as Alicia explained (meaning_, lied through her teeth_) with a completely straight face, that Leary was her therapy cat, producing a very official looking card to prove it. Jake might have believed her if he hadn't seen her, John, Jojo, and Fergus laboring over making the thing the week before. The ridiculousness of the whole thing, an actor in CATS, needing a therapy cat, and explaining all of this to the poor kid behind the counter at Wendy's _while_ in full CATS costume, finally got to Jake, and his sides were aching when Alicia made her way up to the table, tray in one hand and cat hanging like a full sack of potatoes in the other as she nuzzled the beast. As she sat down, Jake notices a strange slink in her movements that he'd never seen before. The gentle flush appeared again as she glanced at his face, and suddenly everything clicked into place in his head with a solid _Snap!_

A grin spread over the face-painted lips, and Jake took a nonchalant sip of his shake before asking, almost as if to inquire about the weather, "So, you and Mistoffelees, hmm?" Alicia jumped as if stung, her eyes flying wide and her face blanching white under the face paint. Her breath hitched midway to her lungs, and her eyes darted about, looking for escape. Jacob recognized the panic of fear, and the imminent threat of her bolting, and speedily continued, grabbing her hand to steady her. "Alicia, listen! I'm not judging you. To be honest, I'm not exactly surprised. The two of you get along so well, and you're the person dedicated to this whole mess the most, even if you're new and just really an understudy… Alicia-You're the closest of all of us to the Jellicles, and you've only known about them for a few months. You get so involved in their lives, care so deeply for them, for all of them…I'm not even as close as you are, and I've had one living with me for the past thirteen years!"

Cici listened, tears of relief and confusion in her eyes, wounds brought up the night before still raw in her mind. Doubt made it's way to her thoughts, however, and her tiny smile flagged.

"You aren't…you're not disgusted?" she asked in disbelief, stammering as she hunched over Leary, her arms wrapped securely around her furry, purring shield. Jacob laughed kindly

"Disgusted? Why would I be?"

Alicia blinked, thinking the answer obvious "Misto-Mistoffelees is a Jellicle. A _cat_. He's not…_Human_." To her surprise, Jake smiled. Patting her hand he leaned forward and reassured her. "Cici, you're my friend, and Misto's been my friend for years. Two of my closest friends have hooked up and seem fairly happy about it." Jake paused at her incredulous look, glanced around to make sure people weren't evesdropping, and continued. "And look, as far as the _human_ thing goes? I'm Bi, Sleepyhead, I've seen how 'human' humans can be. Trust me, Mistoffelees is more human than half the people in this city, so the fact that he's a bit fuzzier than most of them isn't about to bother me-or anyone who's spent any time around the Jellicles."

"So-you aren't-it's not weird that I-I mean…" Alicia blushed.

"Hon, half the girls had a crush on the real Tugger, and well, you've seen the fan fictions, all those silly Original Character stories… It's not so strange, being attracted to a cat. It'll take some getting used to, just 'cause we haven't seen it, but it's no big deal. I think Rosemarie and that maned idiot hooked up once. Bombalurina was on the outs with Tugger or something…anyway.

"Besides," Jake grinned mischievously, "I'm the _last_ person in the world who can judge you. I'm gay, or was, but I got married-to a woman!-and have a kid! How can I judge you for genus when you don't judge me for gender?"

"You understand?"

"Yes."

"And you still want to hang around with me, even though I-you know?"

"Put the cat in the bag, shall we say? Honey, it's no more an issue to me than if you'd slept with Karl…though _he_ may have something to say about it-he's been crushing on you since the word go."

"I'm just so confused, Jake." Alicia muttered, stuffing the last few fries of her lunch down her throat before continuing. She swallowed too big a bite and choked before finishing her jumbled thoughts. "I mean, not that being with Misto wasn't wonderful-it was. It was fantastic, but why-why couldn't I have that with a human? Why have all the men in my life been shit, but a tom from a species that shouldn't even exist makes me feel, I don't know, like I matter, like I'm worth something?"

Jake sighed, the dregs of his shake rattling wetly as he stalled, looking for an answer. "I can't tell you that, Cici. But does it matter, though-that he's a Jellicle? To you, does it really matter?"

"No. That's the shit of it. Last night…nothing mattered except that Mistoffelees was Mistoffelees. I knew I shouldn't have, but I just didn't care."

Jake stole a drink of Alicia's soda and looked at the girl. The flesh-bleaching fear had left her face, to be replaced by a gentle blush. She almost glowed, even if the undercurrent of worry still seethed beneath the surface. That sort of glow was rare, after only a couple months acquaintance and one session of sex, but Jake recognized it instantly. He took both her hands in his, giving her a gentle smile.

"Do you love him?"

"What?" Alicia squawked at the unexpected question.

"Do you love Mistoffelees?" Jake repeated, squeezing her hands. Alicia's eyes swam, and she stuttered as she looked away.

"I-I…" her voice disappeared to nothing. Leary chose that moment to make a loud, disgruntled yowl and hop on her shoulders, cuffing her face with his tail, and biting at her neck like he had the tux tom's in his attempts to steal the bow-tie. Alicia smiled, wrangling the beast off her back.

"My cat knows me better than I do. Yes, I do-or, I'm starting to, at least. I'm not sure. I've never been in love before."

Ignoring the sadness of that statement for the good of both of them, Jake nodded and cracked a huge grin. "Well then, just be happy about it and stop worrying so damn much! Everything else will sort out later. Besides, I'm living proof you can't help who you fall in love with, so at least you've got me in your corner if things get crazy."

Alicia smiled demurely and nodded. "Thanks. Um, Jake? Was I…was I being that obvious?"

"Not really, but I'm the only one who knew Misto didn't come home last night _and_ where he went, so I might have been watching more."

"Um, Jake? I'd really appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone else. Misto left this note, said something about the tribe couldn't find out, so…"

"Not a problem. Remember-Gay (well, Bi…) I know how to keep a secret when I need to."

"Thank you."

The two sat in a companionable state of mindless chatter for the rest of the lunch hour before heading back to the theatre, braving the wind huddled together, leary walking beside them on his leash. Jake leaned in, guarding Alicia from the wind a bit more, unable to contain himself any longer. He just had to ask.

"Just out of curiosity, what was I missing all those years when I was still completely gay?"

Alicia's face turned red, but after a bit of joshing, she used her hands to indicate the size of the tom in question. The black eyebrows almost disappeared into Jake's wig.

"_Damn!_ Really?"

"Mmhmm."

"Ah. Pity I'm straight at the moment. Oh well. I feel the sudden need for my character to be a bit more…cocky." Jacob joked, snickering at the scrunched up grossed out face Cici was sporting.

"Don't be gross, you sound like John."

"Then it's working already!"

"Grrr!" Cici growled, grinning. Jake gave her a look

"Trick Misto taught you?"

Cici hissed at him silently and swatted at the back of his head playfully, happy she had someone she could count on. They barely made it back to their places for the 'Jellicle Songs' set when Gillian blew her whistle.

_An Awkward Conclusion_

If any of the Jellicles noticed that their resident magician was out of sorts, none of them troubled themselves to say anything about it. Mistoffelees suffered through the rest of the day, flickering in and out of the theatre on whatever asinine little chores he could think of, even going so far as to finally clean out his half abandoned den and escorting Rumpelteazer to Alicia's apartment building when the queen in question took Leary home. Rumpelteazer herself had to bite her tongue; she didn't need escorting, and was too much of a tomboy to be flattered.

But even all the minutia of the day couldn't keep him away from what he knew he had to face sooner or later. The tux couldn't miss the significant glances and nods Tugger was shooting across the set, nor could he miss the dusting blush on Alicia's face whenever they caught sight of each other. A swift pang of jealousy so strong it worried him crashed through his stomach every time he saw her dancing closely with one of the cast. Mistoffelees shook his head worriedly. He had to get his emotions under control, one way or another-running wild, they were dangerous, and wild was precisely where they kept heading.

Mistoffelees used every calming technique he'd ever learned as he approached Cici between sets. Alicia hadn't noticed him tailing Rumpelteazer when she took the cat home, so he had a plausible reason for asking what he was about to. He knew she wouldn't believe that, but he had to say something, just in case anyone was listening in. Cici stood backstage, cooling off with a bottle of water, when Bryn short cut the cat. The tall actor tapped on Cici's shoulder to get her attention, a consternated look on his face.

"Connors," he said, making her jump, "you-you're doing well. Keep it up."

"Umm…wow…thank you Bryn." Alicia said, confused. Walters stalked away, and she sat down to retie her shoes. Mistoffelees shook off the unpleasant jolt that came with Bryn's name on Alicia's lips and walked over to her. Plunging in, the black cat choked out, "Alicia, listen, I, um…I'm not entirely satisfied with what I said about Leary's health yesterday. I noticed him acting a bit lethargic today, and I'm worried that I missed something that may be wrong with him. Would it be alright for me to come back over and check on y-him?"

"Well, sure, Misto." Alicia said, her voice chipper and unreadable. "I'll drive us again. Damn snow."

Their eyes met, and both blushed before laughing uncomfortably. Cici ended the awkwardness by bolting off as Gillian and Andrew called for the cast. Mistoffelees was left standing, confusion running around madly in his brain.

The drive to Alicia's apartment was silent, and Mistoffelees felt his earlier confidence slipping away as uncertainty made it's icy way into his brain, slicing through the warm, cherry incense infused air of the van. Alicia said nothing, only watching the road, a tiny smile on her lips. Mistoffelees agonized internally. Was she laughing at him and his forward behavior, however circumvent it had been? Was she covering up some cold distrust after revealing what she had to him the previous night? His confidence slipped further from his grasped.

As they clambered their way up the fire escape, Mistoffelees did not offer her his arm in support. He was certain she didn't want him too. The things he meant to say to her were running over and over in his head, trying to sort themselves out into order. Once inside, after shaking the snow from her shoulders and discarding her boots, Alicia stood before Mistoffelees, waiting and silent. Whatever he had been meaning to say, all of his carefully planed comments to assure her that everything was alright, or to sweep her off her feet, all of them flew out of his mind, and the black cat found himself apologizing to her to her instead, his hand clamped firmly around hers. Every singly thing he'd perceived as wrong amplified in his mind a hundred times over, and he only hoped she could forgive him.

"Alicia, I…I am so sorry. What I did…I was wrong. I practically forced myself on you last night-I didn't once think-I just shoved and bullied you into it and-I mean I-I understand it if you hate me. I just-I wanted it to happen, I wanted you so much. I didn't want or mean to hurt you. I'm so sorry for…" He couldn't look at her, couldn't face what he perceived he'd done. Alicia forced him to do just that as her hand cupped his cheek. She was smiling at him.

"Shut _up_, Misto…What happened last night, I wanted it to happen just as badly as you did." She began, her eyes locking to his resolutely. "You didn't force anything on me I wanted you. You didn't hurt me, and I couldn't hate you if I tried."

"But what about-you cried-you…" Mistoffelees stuttered lamely, beginning to realize he was doing exactly what Tugger warned him about, letting his doubt gnaw at him and defeating himself. Alicia smiled at him sadly. She wondered if he regretted it that much, but she didn't let that stop her from saying the little speech she'd been writing in her head ever since lunch.

"Last night was amazing, Misto, and I decided that I'm not gonna let that other crap effect me-effect this and whatever it turns into." Her hands dropped into his and entwined their fingers. "Mistoffelees, I care about you. I feel safe around you, and I know you'd never knowingly hurt me. I know you wouldn't use me or take advantage of me, so I'm not going to let those things, those things that made me cry, poison this. _That_ has nothing to do with _Us_, and even if Us ends right here, it's still too good a thing to taint with that." Mistoffelees stood there, reeling a bit and running 'I care about you' in a loop in his mind. Alicia squeezed his hands when he didn't respond right away.

"Misto-I'm gonna be happy about this, and I'm not going to let my father's sickness fuck it up."

"So it was just those awful memories? I didn't hurt you?" the tux asked, his eyes pleading, needing to be sure. Alicia beamed at him before her smile faltered.

"No. And you never will. I hope."

"You hope?" Misto asked, more confused now than anything.

"Mistoffelees, if I told you something-something serious about this…would it scare you off?"

"I-no, Cici-nothing about this short of me hurting you somehow could ever scare me off."

"Good." Alicia said. She dropped his hands and looked at the floor, her face red and her voice catching. A quick shot of panic stung Mistoffelees before her word completed themselves. "That's good because-because…I think that I…I love you, Mistoffelees."

The black cat's heart flooded with warmth, his head swimming at her words. A gigantic grin split his face and his last bit of nervousness disappeared. He threw his arms around Alicia, kissing her soundly and sweeping her around in a huge circle before placing her back on her feet and taking her hands back into his. He leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"Well, there's nothing scary about that. I love you too."

Mistoffelees found himself on the floor the next instant, pinned under Alicia after she'd flung herself into his arms, her shriek of delight stopped only by the fact that her tongue was now snaking its way down his throat. He chuckled and purred in the same breath, holding to her as tightly as he could, and thought only 'screw the tribe,' before too much blood flowed away from his brain. The lights of the apartment flickered and sizzed off, and the two were bathed in a moonlight washed blue darkness. To enthralled with removing clothes and mapping out still unfamiliar flesh, they never made it to the bed.


	12. Chapter 12, Festivical Cats

**Chapter 12. Festivical Cats**

_The Morning After: Take 2, or 'The Wake-up Call'_

Mistoffelees woke up with the sun in his eyes and a weight on his chest. Blearily worrying that he'd Jellicle'd out on Julia's bed, he switched over to cat form quickly, only to be rewarded with a muffled "C'mere," and a hand on the scruff of his neck as Alicia dragged him into her arms, still dead to the world. His brain clicking on, he remembered the previous night's events and smiled, settling in before switching back to Jellicle form. He stretched out on Alicia's bed and tried to relax. Cici made that exceedingly hard; her leg had flung itself around him, and was taunting his morning erection something awful. Trying to ignore that particular part of his anatomy (at least until the woman sprawled on his chest woke up,) Mistoffelees replayed the memories of the night before in his head. The self defeating awkwardness was embarrassing, and he had no idea why he still did that. He chose to ignore that for a later date and went over the rest. No crying, no mind delving to help destroy horrendous dark secrets, very little awkwardness other than on his part. Just him and Alicia and the living room floor. He could see the rug burns on her shoulders and rear, and knew a chunk of fur was missing on his shoulder where she'd bitten him. He grinned at that. After all the red-purple marks he'd left on her-at least twelve that he could easily see-he sort of deserved it. She snored gently on occasion. His hands had stray bits of blond hair threaded around them from him kneading her scalp in the middle of the night. And of course, there was The Confession.

The one time before when he'd said those words, he'd grown to regret it as the relationship progressed faster for his partner than it did for him. He'd still loved the poor tom, just not as much as he'd been loved in return. This time felt different. Maybe it was because she was female, or he was older and better able to understand. He didn't know, and didn't dwell on it. And then there was Cici, sounding like those words had never truly left her lips before. That worried him slightly. It was far too early to know where this would go, and he cared for her too much to be the one to break her heart.

The black cat left his train of thought behind as the blond on his chest started to move as she woke up. Alicia looked up at him, her eyes greenish in the early morning blear. "Hey."

"Hi, there," she said back. The tux grinned as she nuzzled into his fur against the chill. He felt her smile against him and mutter something before she nipped him on the side.

"Good morning to you too, Bitey," he chuckled, a small thrill running up his spine as she bit him again, a little lower. That really wasn't helping with that pesky erection.

"Not yet, it isn't," she said around a small bit of his flesh, obviously having noticed his discomfort. Teasing, she rubbed her leg up and down a few times, causing him to purr slightly, before continuing her nipping, nibbling trail down his torso. The hand she had beneath him trailed down to his tail base, scratching lightly and causing his muscles to tense. He hissed at the contact and watched her through half glazed eyes as she reached her goal, biting and then licking the skin just above and on either thigh before running a finger lazily over his organ. His hips bucked involuntarily and Alicia smiled. She could smell her own arousal in the air, and was certain Mistoffelees could as well, and knew it was driving him mad. She continued to run her finger along one of the veins, smiling sweetly.

"Now, what to do about this uncomfortable, wounded looking beastie?" She puzzled as she studied his erection. She knew she was blushing furiously, but was pretty sure Misto was too, so it was worth it. She ran the rest of her fingers over the impressive organ, barely ghosting a touch. Mistoffelees felt himself jerk under her hand. "Cici…" he panted, but couldn't remember what he was going to say next. She smiled a bit wider. "I suppose I could pet him and make him feel better." She smiled, her hand still ghosting over him. The cat gritted his teeth, determined to watch her and figure out just what little game she was playing. He was sure he'd have to participate at some point. He jerked under her hands again, a groan escaping his throat. The hand disappeared.

"Or…perhaps a kiss would make all that discomfort go away." Mistoffelees groaned louder at the thought of her mouth around him. He felt her shift on the bed, and she lowered her mouth over the head of his arousal, but didn't close her lips. All he could feel was the warm, moist air of her mouth swirling around him as she breathed. Jolts of lightning shot up his spine, and it took all of his strength to not grab her by the back of her head and just shut her jaw. She let a puff of breath out over him, and he twitched, just brushing against her wet tongue. She immediately pulled away, grinning evilly.

"No-a kiss might not do either. Oh, what to do? So many options." She sat up and pretended to pout, still looking Misto right in the eye. She leaned down over him and whispered, "What to do?"

Mistoffelees snapped. Grabbing her by the arms, and roaring "For Bast's sake, woman, do _Something!_" he whipped her around on top of him into a cockeyed straddle, and impaled her with a satisfied growl. Alicia gave a startled yelp as he entered her all at once, the head of his arousal pushing her cervix back a good inch and a half. It hurt gloriously, and she wrapped her legs around his hips as he rolled them over, disturbing a furiously yowling Leary. She locked her feet over his tail and ground down on the sensitive spot with her heels as he thrust into her, wildly at first, then slowing the pace to almost a halt. She moaned as he brought his tail around to tickle both her taut nipples at once, all the while licking with that wonderful rough tongue all around her earlobe. Pure electricity danced down her spine as he twisted his hips, his organ again hitting those places she was still learning to feel. She clamped down on him, forcing him to move agonizingly slow as she shifted her legs higher up on his waist, biting his shoulder before catching his lips, their tongues dueling in counterpoint to their bodies.

Mistoffelees ran his claws teasingly down the backs of her thighs before rearranging her legs to over his shoulders. He taunted her smaller opening with his tail as he moved his hands to her breasts, kneading their softness and scraping the sensitive nipples with his claws, eliciting a delighted shriek. He bent his spine in a humanly impossible arch and nibbled his way down her soft stomach, quickening his thrusts at each bite. He reached her navel and drove into her hard, biting her belly at the same time. She cried his name, her nails digging into his ears as she held his head and shoved him lower. He grinned, and dragged his tongue down the rest of her body, laving the angry bite marks, stopping just before he hit the pulsing little bud of arousal that jutted out above his own thrusting organ.

Stretching out, he captured her lips bruisingly one last time before bending impossibly in half again, thrusting hard and clamping his mouth over that little bud. He felt his spine tighten as she cried out. Four passes of his barbed tongue and she was gone, her back arched convex to the mattress, her walls holding him so tight he cried out as well. He watched her crest the waves of her climax before pressing a claw to the tortured bud, starting a whole new wave. He rode this one with her, twisting his organ through the pressure and climaxing with a muffled groan of her name as he bit down onto her shoulder again.

They lay in a sweaty, hazy visioned heap for several long moments before Alicia raised her head up to whisper "_Now_ it's a good morning." Mistoffelees wasn't sure why, but he burst out laughing, his abdomen slightly sore from the previous acrobatics.

"Mynx," he teased.

"Feind."

"You like the evil."

Alicia said nothing, just craned her neck up and licked his nose. The two just stared at each other for a few moments, not thinking of anything in particular, when Mistoffelees yowled and nearly threw himself off the bed. Alicia's alarm clock was blaring at earsplitting volume. The girl scrambled in the ripped sheets for a moment before slamming her fist on the snooze button and then turning the offending bit of technology off. Mistoffelees panted, feeling rather silly, before Alicia grinned at him and cuddled into his side.

"I think I like our version better."

"Me too," the cat agreed, his heart still hammering. Alicia smiled up at him. "You know, Misto-I feel kind of bad about that 'tiger in bed' saying now."

"Huh? Why?"

"Well, your patterning is all wrong. I suppose I could call you a panther, though." Misto grinned. "Tugger will be devastated you changed the saying to match me, you know. He's convinced that old saw was written expressly for him."

"I can't seem to find it in myself to care."

"Me either." Misto spared an eye to her alarm clock and the rising sun outside and sighed. "Alicia-if I don't get back to Jake's, Shelby's gonna get suspicious. There was talk of-neutering-yesterday. To prevent me from 'tomcatting around,' so to speak." Alicia pulled a sad face before giggling. The tux tom groused at his lover. "There is nothing funny about the N word!"

"It's not that!" Cici choked between giggles, "it's just-oh haha-it's just she was absolutely right! You have been tomcatting around! Just-heehee-just not with a cat!"

"You're a loony, you know that, right?"

Alicia threw a pillow at him and sat back on the bed, watching with more than a healthy dose of envy as Mistoffelees twisted to clean the fur on his thighs. There was something ridiculously arousing about watching someone who was physically able to orally pleasure themselves. The black cat felt her eyes on him and looked up, his tongue dangerously close to where her eyes were pinned.

"I could help you out too, you know," he grinned, the smirk going wider as she blushed. "You could, but I have work today, and if you started that, we'd never get out of bed. Then Tugger'd come looking for you, and then where would we be?"

Mistoffelees paused, guilt flashing in his eyes. "Er-Cici…damn, I might as well just say it-Tugger-Tugger already knows."

"What?"

"I'm not-I don't hide nights like this very well, and he knows me better than most. He just wouldn't let up and I wound up just spilling the whole thing-not the sordid details!-just the fact that it happened."

Misto watched as Alicia digested the information, her eyebrows knitted together. She shook her head and gave him a small smile. "Well, it's not like I can be mad. Jake knows too. He figured it out on his own, but…yeah. He promised not to say anything."

"I made Tugger swear. He knows when to keep his mouth shut, don't worry, it's just that no one ever asks him to."

Alicia sighed and cuddled up to Mistoffelees again, her hands buried in the thick ruff on his chest. "I'm glad we woke up early," she sighed.

"Ready again?" The cat chuckled.

"Well-yes, but that's not what I meant," she smiled.

"What did you mean then?"

"Misto-I'm not going to pry-you've told me so much about the Jellicles already that I can't imagine that hasn't gotten you in trouble-but should we be doing this? I mean should we be-Us? I don't know how serious it is, but I can't assume my being human isn't a big deal. I know it's a huge deal-not _how_ huge but…Misto, I don't want you getting in trouble because of me."

Mistoffelees froze for a second before realizing she wasn't ending it, just worried for him. He shrugged and held her tightly. "I could be in a world of trouble-but I'll spare you the details. Alicia, I've broken rules before. The tribe needs me, but I'm happy right here. If they don't want me to be happy, well, they don't need me too badly, then do they?"

Alicia didn't know what to say, but Mistoffelees felt a drop of water or two fall on his fur as she held him tighter. He smiled and then stood up, the blond in his arms as he turned her shower taps with magic. "Come on then, up you get," he grinned. "Like you said, you do have work, and if the both of us don't get going Tugger and Jake are bound to figure out that they each know something, and if those two get started, we'll never hear the end of the bets on just _what_ we were up to."

Alicia giggled and hopped in the shower. Despite the primal feeling of pride and possession he felt at seeing all of his marks all over her, the Jellicle sat on her loo and healed the worst ones, watching her bathe through the shower curtain.

After a furious tongue jousting match goodbye on the living room couch, Mistoffelees made sure he had his collar on this time before switching forms and teleporting to Jake's house in a burst of light. Cici made it to work five minutes early, only three people any the wiser. Jake wiggled his eyebrows at her the whole day.

_Christmas, Questions, and Catnip_

They continued like this for the next three weeks, shagging like demons on any available surface at Cici's apartment, followed by pillow talk, teasing, more shagging, breakfast, a mad dash to work and Jake's house, waiting for Alicia's workday to end, and then repeating the cycle all over again. In between it all, Alicia managed to scrape through her veterinary classes with solid B-'s and one A (in feline anatomy) and go on a week long nightclub carousing streak with her closest girlfriends and former flat mates, Leena and Remy, whom she'd been neglecting from stress. Misto had to fetch her more than once from the clubs, but he was glad to see her having fun for once, instead of obsessing over her classes or the musical, and since they got home at seven and it therefore only equaled losing three hours of sleep or alone-time, it wasn't a problem. That he actually got along with her friends was a bonus.

The last three weeks buzzed heavily in his head as Mistoffelees approached his father. The elder tom was laying, sprawled yet dignified, on the top of an old Mercedes at the far end of the junkyard, regal even in his feline form, snow dusting his grey coat. A young marmalade and cream tabby queen lay contentedly beside him, her head down in sleep and her stomach distended in heavy pregnancy. 'Maybe this one will be my replacement,' Mistoffelees thought wistfully as he approached. He could sense Munkustrap close by, guarding over their father unobtrusively. Grizabella and Tumblebrutus could be seen wrapped around each other and thoroughly busy in the old Ford two piles over, but the black tom wasn't worried about anyone overhearing. He could easily make himself and his conversations silent.

Old Deuteronomy saw his youngest son approaching and nodded in acquiescence. It was rare for Mistoffelees to come to him with anything. When he did, the request or information was always important. Deuteronomy always made time for the young tux, both because of his position as Jellicle Heir and out of guilt. They were not as close as Deuteronomy would have liked. They loved each other to be sure, but because of the way Mistoffelees had been raised by his uncle Bustopher, there was always an uncomfortable bit of formality between them. There was none of the familiar joking he had with Munkustrap or Rum Tum Tugger. The old tom nudged his current mate into wakefulness. She blinked at him for a moment, then saw Mistoffelees and smiled at the both of them, nuzzling her mate, hopping off the car and trotting happily away. She paused to rub shoulders with her stepson, who was only a few years younger than she.

"I see Arixa's doing well, Father. When is she due?" Mistoffelees said quietly. Deuteronomy smiled. "Within the next month. Quaxo, while I'm glad you worry over Arixa, I know that isn't why you're here. What do you wish to as me, son?"

Mistoffelees sighed. His father had always been right to the point. The black tom took a moment to steel himself and then dove in.

"Father, I-you're aware that I'm quite good friends with Alicia, correct?"

"My boy, everyone is aware that you are good friends with the young Miss Connors. Why do you bring it up, has something untoward happened to her?"

"No, Father. It's simply-Father, she's trusted me with some of her troubles, and they are quite worrying. This holiday that's coming up, Christmas, is a time for family. Alicia has been betrayed terribly by a member of her family, and I can't imagine she feels comfortable going home this season." The black tom fidgeted with the snow under his paws for a moment. Deuteronomy nodded. "Go on, son. I'll bite the hook."

"Father-" Mistoffelees muttered, his voice going lower "I'd like to give her a gift that could drive all that hurt from her mind. We all know how hard she worked to get here, how hard she's working still. And she's so close to all of us, even though she's human. I'd like to, for just a day, use my magic to give her Jellicle form."

Old Deuteronomy's eyebrows rose at the request, and the old tom leaned back to ponder. He could tell from his son's reluctance to describe the abuse mentioned that it was sexual in nature-the kind of abuse that any Jellicle would be killed for committing. He knew too well the kind of damage that could do to a mind. Miss Connors was an exceptionally kind young woman towards the Jellicles, giving even the ones she didn't get along with a good deal of congenial respect. She wnet out of her way to be kind to the kittens and cats who did get on with. Asparagus the younger owed her his life-at least in part. And from his observations and few conversations with the young woman, Deuteronomy knew she was no danger to the tribe. A gift like his son was proposing would mean more than the world to her. Other than the fact that he could not remember if such a thing had been done in his considerable lifetime, the Jellicle leader saw nothing wrong with it. And it would allow his son a measure of happiness with the girl he could not attain while she was in human form. Deuteronomy could ignore that particular skirting of the law with nary a worry.

"Father, you can't seriously be considering letting him do this." Munkustrap said, cutting in from his guard post. "I like Alicia just fine, and she and Demeter get along great, but there's no precedent for this. We all know how much she loves this whole thing, and that's wonderful, but what's to stop her from harassing Quaxo into making it permanent?"

"She wouldn't do that!" Mistoffelees half growled before he could stop himself. He got odd looks from his father and brother. "Munk, I know you're just concerned for the safety of the tribe- I get it, what's to stop this from snowballing and turning out to be other humans asking for the change to get out of their own mistakes? But you can trust me, it won't happen. Think for a moment. You know she isn't like that."

Munkustrap looked at his younger brother incredulously for a moment. "I remember you saying much the same when you were fourteen and Tugger was involved. But I suppose you're right. She's not like Tugger and she's not like a lot of the other humans either. I'm not exactly happy with this, Misto, it's bending rules we've all already made flimsy-but I can respect why you want to do it for her. If a mysterious new tribe member appears out of nowhere, you and me will have more than words, though."

"Of course." The black cat nodded, bowing slightly. He turned to Old Deuteronomy, who had been following the conversation silently. "Father, what have you decided?"

The grey tom stroked his beard for a moment before smiling benignly. "While I share you're elder brother's concerns, I have observed a few more humans in my day than he, and can determine from that that Miss Connors is not the kind to receive a gift and then demand more. Ensure that it will not drain your magic too completely and that it _is_ for only twenty-four hours, and I will have no qualms with you bestowing your friend a Jellicle form."

Mistoffelees blinked before bowing again, a smile barely restrained as he said "Thank you, Father."

Old Deuteronomy watched Mistoffelees walk away, the excitement barely concealed in his stiff legged stride. He held up a paw at the same instant Munkustrap opened his mouth. "I have my questions, son, but it has been too long since I have seen him this happy. We will see how everything plays out, and deal with the consequences as the unfold."

The old tom sat pondering for a time, some of his younger queens and their kittens coming by to snuggle next to him and get warm in the chill December air. He watched his youngest daughters play amongst themselves in the snow that blanketed the junkyard and gave a not wholly contented sigh. He loved all of his children dearly, even if it had gotten to the point that he couldn't quite remember their names immediately. His second youngest son, a month older than Mistoffelees, was now a parent himself. Three of his daughters would take mates at the next Ball. Deuteronomy spent his days surrounded by a passel of queen kittens who liked to burrow into his thick fur and braid silly baubles in his tail. He had always loved watching his children grow and prosper. The only one he truly worried about anymore was Mistoffelees.

Because of what had happened to Macavity upon learning of his magic, Deuteronomy had been forced to change the way he raised his tuxedo son. His mother had died a month after his birth, and so it was easier to have Bustopher rear him until he was ready to accept his position in the tribe. The plan had almost back fired, but Mistoffelees had turned out well. Deuteronomy only wished his son would drop the formality and settle down. Of all of his children, Mistoffelees was the only on of mating age who had not yet started a family. The Jellicle leader worried, but felt he had little place interfering with his son's life. He sensed a suspicious closeness between Mistoffelees and the human girl, but he would observe and keep his judgments silent for the time being.

Christmas rolled around on the head of a snow storm. Andrew had the entire cast and crew stay late for a Christmas party. Andrew himself was spending the holiday in America, and was catching a plane to Colorado in the next two days. He was taking his three youngest children and wife Madeleine skiing and then on a guided horseback tour of the still warm sections of the Grand Canyon. The Jellicles had all but disappeared, since the rest of the Lloyd Webber family didn't know they existed.

The gift exchange had taken place during lunch of the short filming session. Alicia had gotten little tokens for everyone, even Bryn, and received a few well appreciated gifts in return. Her favorites by far were the original West End poster Jake had gotten her, John's gift of an unofficial Actor's copy of the DVD (which had all the cut material and a filmed stage version of Growltiger's Last Stand) and the studio recording of Tim Rice's version of Memory from Elaine. She didn't ask what they had had to go through to get them. Someone had forgotten to tell her of the Christmas tradition of all the cast banding together to get Andrew and Jillian one thing apiece, and she wound up spending a bit too much on a beautiful monogrammed pen set and a spa weekend respectively, but she didn't mind.

Alicia was wandering around backstage, looking for a bit of quiet away from the raucous, and rather tipsy, party going on on the actual set. The blond sat lost in thought for a few moments before four strong hands grabbed her. She squeaked in protest before a gold striped tail covered her mouth and two nearly all black cats whisked her away up to the sound booth.

"Ack! Ptuu! What the Hell, you guys!" Alicia sputtered around Tugger's tail as the two toms set her down. Tugger grinned and nodded at Mistoffelees. "We had to wait to get you alone, since everyone else bolted 'cause of Andrew's kids. That, and we didn't want to deal with the teasing."

"Teasing?"

"Yeah. The other Jellicles find out about this and we'd never hear the end of it."

"Heard about what?" Alicia asked, puzzled

"Over this," the maned tom said as he pulled a spiked collar out from behind his back. "Me and Misto banded together to find the money to get it. We knew you'd wanted one."

"Thanks you guys! You didn't have to do this, I know you don't celebrate human holidays." Alicia said, taking the collar. Tugger grinned. "Well, I have to something to keep my little brother out of the doghouse."

Misto and Alicia blushed slightly before Mistoffelees took the collar from her hands and bucked it around her neck. He kissed her ear as he pulled away.

"Fits perfectly," he smiled, "I though those longer spikes would be too much for you, but Tugger was right.

"Thank you." Alicia said, hugging the both of them, Tugger's mane making her sneeze.

"Now-" Tugger said, sounding much to businesslike to be taken seriously, "I think Misto has something else planned for you, but I won't hang around for that one. Wink wink, nudge nudge, and all that."

"Oh, be off with you. " Misto laughed as Cici blushed.

"Who let him watch Monty Python?"

"John."

"Remind me to smack that man."

"Done and done, he's been quoting the 'Knights who Say Nee' all week." Mistoffelees chuckled before he turned serious. "Alicia-I do have another gift for you, but it's not exactly something traditional. I really want to do this for you-I practically had to beg Father for permission. It will only last a day, but I need your permission to do it."

"What is it?" Alicia asked warily, remembering the cat's weird streak.

"Well, put it this way-I'm certain it'll beat the shoes."

"Misto…"

"Cici," he said, pulling her to him so he could whisper to her, "I would like, very much, to give you Jellicle form."

"What?" The girl choked, shock stamped to her features.

"I won't do it if you don't want it-I can't, actually. If you agree, there might be some odd after effects, and the transformation will hurt, but for the next twenty-four hours, you'd be one of us."

"You-you're serious. You'd actually do that for me?"

"Yes."

"WAAH!" Alicia shrieked as she leapt at him, crushing his shoulders and molesting half of his face. "I take that as a yes?" the tux chuckled as he held her, nuzzling her neck before setting her down.

"It will hurt. I can't prevent that-"

"It's alright," Alicia interrupted. Mistoffelees smiled and continued.

"Now, I'm not sure how you'll be effected after the spell wears off, but there will be-according to my research anyway-there will be some change. Nothing big, but…"

"What will I look like?"

"I don't know. The spell has a mind of it's own."

"…Okay…"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Ready?"

"Yes."

Mistoffelees held her face, closing her eyelids with his thumbs, running his fingers over her face and shoulders, murmuring softly in a language Alicia couldn't understand. He stood her up and ran his hands over every inch of her body, leaving a numbing tingle through even her clothes. Mistoffelees' eyes were wide in concentration, the golden one fading over to brilliant blue, the white creeping out of his coat. He felt, more than saw, the blue edges of his magic flowing out from his center, out through his hands and into his lover's body. His murmuring grew faster, and sweat budded underneath his fur as the last words of the chant left his mouth. For a moment, nothing happened.

Searing pain burst through every cell of Alicia's body as bright light blinded her behind her eyelids. Her muscles seized up in one enormous contraction before she could cry out. The world spun in darkness before she felt strong arms hold her up. She felt a molten crawling sensation as her ears creeped up the sides of her head. Her scalp burned and her skin prickled with fire as fur sprouted and her hair changed. She felt her bones shifting, like broken anklebones grinding against each other, and a disconcerting squirming under her skin as recourses were pulled to her spine. The vertebrae cracked and snapped and shifted to make way for the forming tail, its growth feeling like glass shards embedded and twisting in flesh. Her clavical shrunk and her shoulders shifted and detached, and her upper jaw grew and rounded, fangs sprouting behind her small canine teeth and shifting forward.

Mistoffelees held her steady as the spell took hold, his own body taxed from casting it. He blocked as much of the pain as he could, but still had to silence the room to cover up her whimpers. He closed his eyes, knowing the transformation would be awkward, and he would be to tempted to stop it if he looked at her pained face. When the whimpering stopped, he sat her down in a soft chair, magicked most of her clothes into her pack, and put a spell on her panties, turning them into a pair of Jellylorum's disguised spanks. Then he looked at her.

Before him sat a pretty tabby queen. Her fur was the same straw gold as Alicia's long hair had been, with dark brown stripes running through it. Her arms and legs ended in brown-to-gold ruffs, and her chest was bibbed in white. Around the bib, she sported a small, tawny mane. Her face was gold and white, with markings similar to Rumpelteazer's and her nose was rosy. A white strip ran through the middle of her headfur, flanked by tawny gold. Her ears were dark brown, and her jaw ruff alternated white and gold stripes. Her tail held all three of her colors and was thick and fluffy, twitching this way and that.

Alicia opened her eyes to see Mistoffelees staring at her, a cockeyed grin hanging lopsided on his face. She looked herself over, running her hands over her form. Some weight had disappeared somewhere, though she felt no lighter. She touched her feline ears and knew she wasn't dreaming when the left one started twitching madly. She ran her fingers through the small mane, looking confused.

"Misto-what-how do I look like-where did this look come from?"

"Uh-" Mistoffelees said, blinking so as not to be rude. "The spell-it takes your personality and everything about you into account and tries to bring that out in your appearance. Sort of like my glamours, how it just molds to the Jellicle and fits."

"I look like Tugger's little sister."

"Lots of cats have manes. They just don't come around the theatre, and Tugger's is just flamboyant. I like it."

"Really?" Alicia asked, looking down. Mistoffelees held onto her hand, entwining their fingers. "Really. Now, I'm going glamour us to look like we're in costume so I can go show you off."

"Oh, wait! Could you call Tugger in here and have him bring my backpack? I've got something for you guys. Then you can go right back to showing me off to everyone."

"Erm…alright." Mistoffelees said incredulously. He put his message into a thought, wrapped it in a bit of lightening, and sent it off. Tugger appeared two minutes later, holding Alicia's backpack up to his face and rubbing it.

"What on earth do you have in here, Ally? It smells divine." The maned tom asked as he handed over the bag. "What the? Damn, Misto, was _that_ your gift? I thought you were just going to shag her silly." Tugger said, noticing Alicia's Jellicle form.

"Yes, it was, and that's for later. She's one of us for a whole day."

"She looks like if me and Demeter had a baby."

Mistoffelees and Cici burst out laughing at the idea, both knowing that Demeter could barely stand Tugger. "There isn't enough booze in the world, Tugs!"

"Fine, then, my little sister."

"You've got over thirty of those." Mistoffelees pointed out.

"Stuff it, Stoff. She still looks like me. Weird."

Alicia laughed as she dug in her bag, half ignoring the two and lamenting that she couldn't pack to save her life. A strange vibration traveled up her throat-a purr. Her sense of smell was stronger now, and she could smell her gift to the boys.

"I know you guys don't celebrate holidays, but the girl two floors up grows this organically, and she owed me a favor, so I got you a little something."

She handed each tom a large Ziplock bag of something green and wet.

"CATNIP!" Tugger cheered, opening up his bag and taking and inhaling deeply.

"Calm down, Tugger, it's not like she got you the Pope's hat as a scratching post."

"Have you looked at the stuff, little bro? Organic, high quality, all wet and sticky, _fresh picked_. I'm in heaven." Tugger sighed as Mistoffelees rolled his eyes.

"Okay, I'm lost," admitted Alicia at Tugger's reaction. "I get what catnip does to normal cats, but that's just…yeah."

"Catnip is like weed and a good acid trip for a Jellicle, minus the hallucinations." Mistoffelees explained, taking a careful sniff of his own and smiling. "Just smelling the raw stuff has great effects. If we're in Jellicle form though, we usually smoke it. I haven't done this in years."

"I'm not going to get you guys in trouble, am I?" Alicia asked, worried, but feeling a bit warm from all the catnip scent in the air. Tugger shook his head. "Nah, love, it's perfectly normal for cats to have a stash and use it. We aren't all uptight, and there are no bad side effects."

"So, if Munkustrap found out, he'd be cool with it?"

"Munkus has a stash bigger than mine!" Tugger said. "'Course, with as stressed as that poor bastard always is, he probably needs it. Oh, Bast, Misto, we have to get her nipped, now that she can be! The Jellicle experience wouldn't be the same without it."

"'Nipped?'" Alicia asked.

"Yeah, love-although, I guess you should know about the side effects…"

"Side effects?"

"Tugger, you are not getting her hopped up on catnip!"

"What's the harm, Misto? I'd ask before I stole her…Joking! Just joking!" Tugger waved his hands in surrender at the glare Mistoffelees set on him before he continued. "Ehem. Anyway, Alicia, the side effects are all…rather pleasant. The three H's of Catnip. It either turns you hungry, happy, or horny, or any lovely combination of the three."

Mistoffelees slapped a hand to his forehead and shook his head, mortified. He supposed there was no getting out of it now, though. "Yes, and this idiot gets all three. No queen or refrigerator is safe when the Rum Tum Tugger gets into the nip."

Alicia giggled as Tugger threw an arm around Misto's waist. "Ah, Little Quaxo

here's just jealous because he doesn't get the total package." A second later, Mistoffelees wasn't sure which one embarrassed him more, his brother instructing his girlfriend on the wonders of catnip, or said girlfriend stealing him from his brothers arms and throwing her arms around his neck, saying "That's okay, the package he has is fine with me."

Tugger held in a snigger-barely-and looked away discreetly. "And that would be my cue to exit. Don't let Andrew see her, Misto-he'll want another costume made just so that patterning can be in the show, bloody artist, and we won't be out of here until next Crisscross."

"Christmas, you git."

"Meh. I'm out, you two. Yeah, thanks again, Ally. This winter's going to be interesting thanks to this." The maned tom wiggled his baggie of catnip for emphasis and sauntered out of the room.

Mistoffelees shook his head and looked down at the woman-no, the queen, in his arms. Alicia was giggling silently and shaking her head as well. Mistoffelees grinned and pulled her closer, nibbling on her now pointed ear. "Now, where were we, exactly?" He was pushed away slightly as she grinned. "You were just about to show me off, apparently coming up with a wonderful reason why I'm in a non-regulation costume and why we're still in 'Catface.'"

"Ah, yes, well, lets go then, shall we? That catnip is starting to tickle my nose, and I won't claim responsibility for my actions if it does so much longer."

"What did Tugger mean, you don't get the total package?" Cici asked as they went down the steps to the main floor. The tux cat felt a blush dust his face.

"What did I say about curiosity and you again?"

"Oh, come on Misto, I'm just asking."

Through his blush, Mistoffelees muttered "Nomunchies," and swallowed loudly.

"What?"

"I don't get super hungry."

He received a raised eyebrow and a scintillating thrill up his spine as she twined her new tail around his in response.

"Stop that, or we won't be going anywhere."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Wrong plan." Mistoffelees grinned.

"Fine." Alicia pouted. "Let's go show me off so I can get you home and thank you properly."

They made it back to the party and were greeted with tipsy cheers at the door. Andrew's son Alastair, whom Cici had met and gotten along with at the start of the evening, recognized Cici even through the glamour and ran over to her, curious. "Why did you get back into costume…one I don't recognize?"

"Oh, this? My nerdy friends invited me and Michael to a costume party, and since we already had these, well…"

"Where'd your's come from?"

"Oh, I made it, about a year ago. Haven't had a chance to wear it before now."

"Oh. Well, alright then."

They waded through the rest of the party goers, getting smiles and a few odd glances. Andrew raised up a hand as if to say something, a familiar artistic light in his eyes, but he was sidetracked by Tim Rice toasting him. They skirted around the wall flowers, neither noticing the glares of Bryn or Munkustrap as they made it out the door to a blast of freezing wind.

Alicia hopped in the driver's seat of her van eagerly, a giddy, hyper smile on her face, tears in her eyes. What had just happened was still hitting her. Her insides buzzed, unsure of whether to be afraid or exhilarated. She had a monstrous headache and her throat was dry, and she couldn't see too well. A spinning took over her mind, and the next thing she knew, she was waking up to Mistoffelees shaking her, her head on the steering wheel, her eyebrow throbbing.

"Hey, Sleepyhead." the Jellicle grinned. "You really need to quit that, you know. You're going to knock yourself silly one of these days."

"I fainted again?"

"Today has probably been too much for you. After the spell…well, if it's anything like what I felt the first time I went out in Glamour, you'll be reeling for a while. Budge over, I can get us to your place."

"But what about…?"

"We've got a whole day, that can come later. Right now, you need to sleep and settle into this form. If you're awake you're going to be jittery and make yourself sick."

Alicia wanted to protest, but the word 'sleep' set something of in her mind, and sudden;y, tiredness swept over her in a wave. She yawned and slunk under Misto's leaning torso, effortlessly slithering into the passenger's seat as the black tom shot little zaps of lightning into her dashboard. The Volkswagon van roared to life, and something gentle and classical from Handel drifted out of the speakers. The girl felt her eyes drooping, and as the theatre disappeared amid the grey lines of New York, she drifted off to sleep, cherry incense tickling her nose, the light of a hundred hung crystals throwing rainbows over her new fur.

Mistoffelees carried her up the fire escape, unseen to the huddling tenants inside. He could have teleported them, but he liked how she snuggled into his fur, and the weight of her in his arms. He sat her down on the bed and covered her in a blanket before going to her couch and flopping down. He felt drained. The magic he'd used had nearly been everything. Without the help of the Jellicle moon and the rest of the tribe connected to him, he wasn't half as powerful as he would have liked to have been. It would take him at least a month to recover. When he realized this, he realized exactly how much trouble he was in. Telling someone you loved them was one thing, actually realizing it was quite another. He had never used so much of his magic on something so seemingly frivolous as a gift before. How on earth could he let her realize how much danger she was in if they were found out? He knew his father suspected. Munkustrap may not have had an idea of why he was so close to her-his brother's traditional outlook tended to make him not consider things-but the silver tabby didn't care for the fact that Misto was showing so much favor to a human, no matter the reason.

The black cat didn't want to think about it, but he had no choice. In his search for knowledge and spells, he could not avoid seeing the fates of other Jellicles who had done what he was doing. The last couple had been in the Middle Ages, during Shakespeare's time. The human, a man who's name had been lost, had been cursed to never find a mate of his own kind by the Jellicles, and was strung up as a witch by the humans when they found out. The Jellicle, her name also lost, was banished from the tribe after being regressed into a normal housecat.

Mistoffelees knew he couldn't be banished because of his position in the tribe, but Deuteronomy had far more power than he did, with or without the moon or the tribe, and could find proper punishment for the both of them. Mistoffelees couldn't fathom what that might be, but he knew it would be terrible in it's casting.

As he lay on the couch, his thoughts rambled, finally sticking to old Gus and Grizabella. Both were examples of what love gone wrong could do. Grizabella had lost child after child with various mates, never able to stay with her current mate after the death of their kit. Then Munkustrap was born to Old Deuteronomy, and her whole look on life changed. she had been happy again. When she miscarried Munkustrap's little sister two years later, she almost lost her mind. The only thing that saved her was Tugger's mother dying, and Tugger needing someone to nurse him. She had stayed another two years, before the burdens of all her losses became too much, and she ran away. Her fate from then was common knowledge, and though she was happy now, that past would always haunt her.

And Asparagus, he'd been one of Grizabella's mates, but that hadn't bothered him as much as when his true mate refused him and then died, hit by a lorry in cat form, a few weeks later. He had drifted on in life, devoting himself to theatre and always shuffling about, seeming empty. Demeter's birth had been a high point in his life, but when her mother finally mated with someone else, even that he had to give up, for the sake of his daughter's happiness. He had let love pass him by every time it came his way because he grew to fear the pain it brought when it failed.

The tux cat shook his head and looked at the VCR clock. He'd been lost in thought for over two hours. He oozed of the couch and slunk on all fours to the bedroom, not wanting to stand. He climbed into bed with the girl who had sparked the last two hours of headache and looked at her. She was still not classically beautiful. Her fur color was odd for a cat, and her mane could be seen as tomish, and her form was not as sleek as many of the queens her age, but it didn't matter. He swirled his claws through her headfur, tracing the lines of her ears by the light of the moon. He would not let her go; not yet, not so soon.

Mistoffelees felt his conscious thoughts drift away as he became ingrossed in the patterns on Cici's new fur. He outlined every pattern, ran his hands over every inch of newness. He stroked her tail, listening to the unfamiliar sound of her purr as he did so. She was new to him in this form, when he still had not learned everything about the other. He touched her everywhere, not thinking, focusing on nothing more than learning her so that when she awoke, they would not waste precious time figuring it out. Some of her sensitive spots had moved, and others were much stronger, and some were new entirely.

He wanted to absorbe her scent into his own skin, so he could remember it once her real form had returned. He wanted to explore her with her awake. But that could wait until morning. He slid behind her finally, cradling her in his arms and holding her tight, drifting to sleep beside her.

_To be a cat_

Alicia woke up warm and purring, something hard poking her hip. She felt a wet, rough tongue working at the base of her neck, and immediately leaned into the action.

"Morning, you." She whispered as the tongue sent shivers down her spine. It stopped, and the mouth traveled up to her ears. "We've got a long day today." Mistoffelees whispered to her before drawing her closer. "I can't show you everything, but I can show you the best."

"After you turn this morning from good to wonderful. Then we'll talk."

Mistoffelees grinned wickedly and rolled them over, setting Alicia on her stomach and biting down on the scruff of her neck, pulling at the loose cat skin and drawing a mewling purr from her. Her back arched into his stomach, her tail thrashing impatiently. He grabbed the frantic appendage roughly, making her yowl, and wrapped it around his waist before he wrapped an arm around her waist. He teased her breasts and belly with his claws before going lower, probing for the hidden bud. The location had shifted a bit, but he found it with little problem, stroking it gently. Alicia squirmed into his touch, rearing back into his erection and groaning.

He entered her slowly from behind, his teeth never leaving her neck. He felt her legs wrap around the backs of his own, and guided the both of them in those impossible spinal movements that she'd envied for so long. To his surprise and pleasure, her body felt no different. He thrust slowly, his hands traveling over her body and massaging all the places he knew would drive her to distraction. She ground back into him, twisting her hips in new ways, now that she was able.

Her scent had changed slightly, and the new muskiness of sweat under fur taunted Mistoffelees' nose and had him quickening his pace sooner than normal. Alicia didn't seem to mind. Bunching her arm muscles and hunching her shoulders, she rolled them over and sat up, riding his arousal backards and disloging his teeth in a satisfying scrape. She threw her arms around in a full circle and curled her spine backwards until it was a C, her mouth right under Mistoffelees' chin. He captured her lips and thrust hard as she rocked over him, the point of their joining tilted at an exciting angle.

Alicia felt Mistoffelees groan into her throat, and realized the angle they were at couldn't be too comfortable for him. Raising one leg, she pivoted, her hips and then her spine, spinning around his organ in a way that drove him into all those most sensitive places. Their lips stayed connected, barely, as she shuddered and cried out against his tongue, sparks of electricity traveling inside her body and over her skin.

Mistoffelees let her ride him for a few moments longer before the slow pace became to much. He grabbed her by the waist and flung her onto the other side of the bed before latching onto her mouth and thrusting as deeply as he could, purring at the feel of her cry in his mouth. Her legs wrapped around his shoulders without assistance as he drove into her. He felt his lower spine burn, and quickened his pace again, redoubling his efforts. His mouth covered hers, his tail and one hand working at her taut nipples, the other hand ravaging the angrily hot bud of flesh at her center, his hips working in tandem with hers.

Alicia's head fell back on the pillows, his name coming from her lips in tiny breathless pants. His vision blurred slightly as he walls tightened around him. He felt the shudder of her orgasm around his organ as her legs slipped down to his elbows and she arched up on the bed, his name keening high-pitchedly out of her throat. He cried out with her as his own hold broke, electricity crackling off his body as his essence spilling into her in a hot rush.

They lay on the scorched sheets for a time, their fur standing on end, tails twining lazily until they both heard a gruff, disgruntled voice. "Your todger's gonna fall off if you two keep this up."

Alicia shot up as Mistoffelees laughed, looking around in a panic for the voice before she saw Leary standing on his hind legs, looking at them twined together on the bed. "I…did you just…Leary?"

"Right you are, missy. Of course you can here me. Sparky here made you one of use, didn't he? Where's your brain? Don't answer that, I know where it is!"

Alicia blushed as the enormous cat nodded at their still connected hips. "Um…could you...so we could sort ourselves out?"

"Oh, don't be all shy, now that you can here me. Me being in here's never stopped you before."

Alicia could have sworn she saw one great amber eye wink before her cat sauntered off to find food. Mistoffelees was still sniggering, half on top of her. "What? It's not like I expected to here him talk! He sounds like a crotchety old man. How I always pictured him, actually. Why was he teasing you?"

"You don't even want to know what he said that first morning," the black cat chuckled, sitting up and casting a few small silent spells to clean them up and fix the ruined sheets. "Come on, before we get preoccupied again," he winked, "There's a lot of stuff I want to show you, but we have to be in cat form to do it."

"Can I…?"

"Yes. You're a complete Jellicle. Now, just picture what you think you'd look like as a cat, and then follow me."

Alicia did as she was told, the willing transformation slightly painful but a lot easier than she thought it would be. Mistoffelees had cracked open a window and was standing on the sill in all his tuxedoed glory, grooming a paw. Alicia hopped up next to him, amazed at the suppleness of her feline limbs. "Let's go." The black tom said, in a meow that Alicia understood perfectly. They leapt down and scurried down the fire escape, into the invigorating cold of the early December morning.

Mistoffelees lead her all over the city by way of rooftops and fences and skittering through frozen over drains. They bypassed the junkyard of the Jellicles, but toured another one, having a great time tormenting the doddery old bulldog on a chain. He was actually a kind old dog that Alicia had fed more than once, and just barked for show. They chased squirrels and ran through the trees at Central Park and stole scraps of meat from delis and venders as they went. Mistoffelees lead her into the back of one of the older animal shelters, where they freed a couple of the new Jellicles who had gotten caught. When the cats mad it back to the Junkyard, Misto took her down to the dry sections of the old subway and taught her how to hunt rats. They ate their kills fresh, Alicia actually enjoying the muted yet gamy taste of the rat. They went back up to the park for a nap in the sunlight, curled up together and drawing several 'awws' from young children that passed the. They awoke at midday, and settled into a game of chasing the pidgeons. Alicia got buffeted away from the lake by a mute male swan that chased her halfway down a jogging path before he gave up. Misto had rolled in the grass, hiss laughing the whole time. They chased each other, play fighting until they found a concealed patch of wild catnip. They rolled around in the stuff until their noses ran and they were purring themselves silly. They mated again in the hidden alcove, Alicia feeling for the first time Mistoffelees' spurs, which were always present in cat form. He feline body was designed to handle them, and the slight tearing burned, but it only added to the pleasure, as did his teeth in her neck scruff.

By the time sunset rolled around, tux and tabby had made heir way slowly back to Alicia's apartment, smelling of wild mint, catnip, sex, and New York. They slunk through the window in tandem, Leary pacing the floor and giving Mistoffelees a bit of a glare as he nuzzled his feline form owner. The pixie bob mix sauntered away as they Jellicle and his charge made it to the bed. Alicia could feel the magic ending and crawled under her blankets before picturing her Jellicle self.

Mistoffelees crept in beside her and wrapped his arms around her. He had no word of apology to give her for her gift ending. He knew no words would be enough, so he held her and rubbed her arm in silent comfort as she cried. When the shivers of the retransformation started, he latched around her, holding her as still as he could and throwing a bubble of silence around the room as her cries started. He felt the tail and fur disappear and the weight it had taken from her form to produce them return as she changed. She lay naked against him when she was finally in her right body again, sobs shuddering through her body as he held her. Mistoffelees let her mourn the loss of her temporary felinity in peace, embracing her until the fell to sleep through her tears and remaining in that embrace until the next dawn.


	13. Chapter 13, Influenzical Cats

**Chapter 13. Influenzical Cats**

_In Which Things Change._

Christmas passed in a quiet fashion, as if the holiday itself had been muted by the thick carpet of snow that blanketed the ground. Mistoffelees rode in Alicia's van in silence, curled up in her lap as a cat, as Leary took up the passenger's seat. The Jellicle had figured she was still raw from her time as a cat, and didn't want to flaunt his felinity in front of her anymore than he could help. However, after an hour of belting out random songs from her Broadway mix and a huge lunch at a Thai restaurant that included a rat as an entrée and something large and chocolate-y for dessert, she was fine, and they found themselves as they had been on that first trip, Glamoured and joking and enjoying the badly driven ride.

The holiday was tense at the Connors' house. Leary did not get along with the family cats, and the oldest of the dogs, Sheba, passed on to whatever afterlife dogs went to. Mistoffelees held a crying Alicia on the couch for several hours, dodging the glares of her father and barely holding back the magic he wanted to throw at the man. The gift exchange was lackluster and Mistoffelees escaped it by claiming he was Jewish, so none of Cici's family felt awkward for not getting him anything. Alicia slipped him a gift card, just to keep up appearances, and he re-presented her with the little gold necklace he'd made for her their first day as an item.

Mistoffelees used a lot more magic than he wanted to, teleporting himself back and forth to Jake's house in the evenings and again in the early mornings so as not to break little Julia's heart (and to avoid future neutering discussions), and he began to suffer symptoms similar to a cold. Marisa fretted over him, and Misto took this as a sign that the woman had accepted that he was part of Alicia's life. He thought it was odd, when he considered that the last time he'd been to the house, it had been under false pretenses, but now the relationship they had tried so hard to fake actually existed. He couldn't say he minded.

The extra food Cici's mom forced on him helped him keep up his spell work, and the sleeping spells came in handy, because tired as he was, he wasn't going to ignore Alicia, and he was well aware of just how much noise they made. Leary had always been sure to bitch at him for it.

They made it back to Alicia's to celebrate New Year's Eve, enduring a drunk Tugger, a flirty John, the two sets of twins making everyone uncomfortable as they made out in the corners of the rooms, and then shipping the whole thing over to Jake's for no other reason than to get even more plastered and to drag him and Shelby out to Times Square to party harder. They had a blast, even if Misto had a headache the size of Tugger's ego and couldn't remember half the night the next morning. Filming started back up the third of January.

_Back at the Theatre_

Jacob Brent walked the set, a small tuxedo tomcat perched lazily on his shoulders. Things seemed emptier to him in the big theatre than they normally did. The Christmas holidays had not been kind to the cast, most of whom lived in the colder climates and had caught something. Ken had come back from Missouri with a nasty but not contagious bout of strep throat he'd caught off his granddaughter. Three fourths of the understudies, seven of the main actors (that he knew of), and a good third of the crew were out with either stomach or swine flu. John was nursing the ass end of a cold backstage, wrapped in quilts forced on him by Jon, his skinny legs sticking out and making him look rather like a multicolored stalk of cotton. Aeva had laryngitis and was dragging her feet. Rose-Marie's voice was okay, but her body was achy and she'd taken at least six aspirins in the last three hours. Michael had gotten over the flu, but had a mild case of pink eye that made him look hung over in makeup. Susie was down with a terrible fever, though she still insisted on coming in. Fergus, Frank, and Leah-Sue were all in various stages of congestive misery that bogged them down on stage, and Jake himself was fighting with a rotten case of tonsillitis that made him feel like his throat was going to jump out the sides of his neck.

Andrew himself had miraculously avoided getting ill, thanks to both his vacation spot choice and his post-cancer treatment medication, which was strong enough to kill anything the cast could throw at him. The older man was rapidly fronting phonecalls to all the cast, finding out who was sick and who could make it in. Due to a scheduling bump, they'd managed to get the theatre performance ready ten days before hand, and had sent out the word. In only a week the cast would be in front of a live audience-that was, if there was enough cast healthy to actually get on stage. Andrew was in his element, running rampant over the phone and barking orders in that polite way only the British could do.

Alicia sat listlessly in the makeup chair, swinging her feet and petting Leary. He was muttering something under his breathe as he sniffed the makeup jars. That seemed to be the only after effect of her Jellicle transformation. She could understand cats now. Dogs too, if she really concentrated. It was odd and rather disconcerting, but it was fun as well. She was getting to know Leary far better than she ever could as just a simple human, and she cherished the experience, not knowing if it would be permanent. However, now she was simply bored. She'd gotten to the set an hour ago, but they'd been unable to do anything, because everyone was either nursing some illness or trying to track down what was going on with the absent

A fluffy tom cat hopped onto her lap and proceeded to demand for attention. Alicia stroked Tugger boredly and looked around before talking to him quietly.

"Any word as to what's going on? I'm too scared of Manic-Andrew to ask."

Tugger's cat voice was a grumbly, deep mroew. "They're all still trying to find out where everyone is and who can make it. Word is that Phyllida isn't answering her phone, and Mr. Gambon is out for the rest of the week with pneumonia."

"Oh. I hope Michael's okay. He's far to old to be catching that!"

"Well, at least we have the understudies to-ooh, right there-cover him. James, Geoff, Rebecca, Jojo, Jason, Drew, Tony, and Tommi are out too."

"And we're missing half the understudies. Things are going to be hectic on the first night." Alicia said, pondering. "Andrew's going to have to shuffle us around like crazy to get everyone's part filled. A lot of people are going to have to learn new choreography."

"You excited? You know you'll probably be up in stage, since so many people are sick."

"Terrified. But it's worth it. I've asked Andrew for tickets to send to my folks."

"What about that two person Gay Pride Parade-ummmm-you call your siblings?"

"They live too far away to even ask. Besides, if I don't get a part, I'm not going to send the tickets."

"You'll get a part-mrrow-Law of Averages, there; don't worry about it."

Alicia nodded, only half believing the cat as she continued to pet him. Tugger dissolved into a purring mess and resigned to lay back and enjoy the attention.

The cast waited another hour in figity boredom. Alicia and the remaining understudies individually went over every bit of choreography they knew by heart, trying to share their knowledge amongt themselves to prepare, before Gillian could sink her fangs into them. John, still in his quilt cocoon but feeling better after two energy shots and a bowl of soup, cuddled in the floor with Tugger, who happily obliged his owner a bit of comfort. Leah-Sue could be seen in a corner, wrapping her ankle and exercising it, a limp barely evident, but the cast gone.

Gillian was working with Fergus and Karl, trying to get them to do their acrobatics, dispite the fact that their heads felt big as a Volkswagon bus. Misto, now in Jellicle form, was quietly speaking with Wendy, looking over the unitards and making measurements with his hands.

A string of curses sounded past the backdrop, and everyone knew Andrew couldn't be too pleased about something. A whistle blew, and sluggishly, all the cast lumbered to the main stage, many still cradling warm drinks. Andrew was up and pacing, a list in his hand. He began to speak, running his fingers down the line.

"Well, as you all know, we're off to start a week early. A bit of post was sent out to all the ticket holders-thanks again for that, Quaxo-telling them they were welcome to redeem their tickets early. However, obviously the winter hasn't been too wonderful too us, and I'll be frank, we're strapped. We've got enough male actors to cover our loses there-though our Gus is going to be younger than I'd have liked. We're at a crossroads when it comes to the girls, though."

Andrew paused to look around at the female dancers sitting in a huddle. Aeva was rubbing her throat, Susie looked about ready to faint, and Rose-Marie was looking just a little loopy from all the painkillers. Leah-Sue looked healthy, even if her ankle was wrapped within an inch of it's life, Elaine looked well over her cold, and Jo, beside her was possibly the only cast member who wasn't currently sick or coming out of an illness. The rest of the girls present were the understudies Andrew shook his head.

"As you can all see, we're dreadfully off kilter here. I know for a fact that for the first week Aeva won't be able to sing. Now, don't argue with me, Aeva, but I also know you'd try to, and I don't want you ruining your voice, so you'll be a silent swing until your throat heals up. Elaine, of course, will be staying on as Grizabella unless something happens, and I'd like to keep Rose-Marie as Bombalurina. Leah-Sue can take back the Electra role as long as she doesn't make it to hard on her ankle, and Femi should be able to stay as Exotica. That gives us nine positions to fill. I know some of you were selected as understudies for certain characters, but I'd like to go over and do a re-cast wherever possible."

There was a collective grumble amongst the girls as they turned and started whispering amongst themselves, worried about what parts they might get. Jo whispered to Alicia that she'd like the chance to be someone other than Etcetera again, and Alicia nodded, knowing she'd be happy with any part she got, though she worried, since she was so used to the Electra choreography. A tux cat sauntered his way into her lap before Andrew managed to quiet down the girls.

"Now, I know, we're two dancers short, so Jellylorum and Jenny have graciously offered to play themselves until everyone gets back on their feet. Now, I'd like to get the more prominent roles out of the way first. I just got a call that Phyllida is down with a terribly strong case of swine flu, and the doctor advised her to stay away for a month. I'd have asked Victoria to play herself, no offense, but she's showing a bit too much, and probably shouldn't be dancing so strenuously." The man paused to look at the cat in Alicia's lap, who nodded slightly, always a bit protective of his sister. Andrew continued. "Soo…we'll be holding a bit of a semi-audition by order of prominence. Victoria, Demeter, then Rumpleteazer, Jemima, Cassandra, Etcetera, and last Tantomile. Everyone agreed?"

The girls nodded in sloppy unison as Gillian strolled up, shooing the boys away. "We'll sort your lot out later, gentlemen, you know the rule: ladies first. Come on girls, up you get. Go get a bit of a drink and a stretch, and then we'll start this thing off with the Invitation."

Alicia walked backstage mechanically, her stomach buzzing unpleasantly. She tried to run over the Invitation in her head, and found only a confused jumble of images. She stretched with the other ladies, copying the movements of whoever her eyes fell on, because she couldn't seem to get her brain to function properly. All too soon, she heard Gillian's whistle, and continued her robot march out to the stage entrance.

Just as the music began to swell, she heard a thought not her own shoot through her mind.

"_Don't be Victoria. Dance like yourself."_

And just like that, the debilitating nerves vanished. The anticipatory buzz was still making her horrendously nauseous, but she could quell it and put a small smile on her face.

Mistoffelees watched backstage, waiting with a few of the other guys to pounce on the practice Victoria's, like Gillian had instructed, to see if the girls could keep up with any sudden changes. Alicia was not the best dancer out on stage. Though Mistoffelees knew for a fact that she was now just as flexible as the rest of the girls, if not more, from the Jellicle transformation, she didn't know it yet, and didn't know to use her abilities to her advantage yet. However, he noticed that she was much different on stage. She followed the choreography, but it was with a strange kind of grace that even Mistoffelees couldn't put his finger on. She danced as if the dance _steps_ didn't matter, but just the fact she was dancing. He found more than once he focused on her face than her feet, and was taken by surprise when he noticed that her position had changed. He noticed Jake and John watching her as well, grinning back at him ambiguously.

When someone years later asked Gillian Lynne and Sir Lloyd Webber whether or not they knew about the cross-species romance going on under their noses before it had become evident, they would deny so vehemently. In Andrew's case, being both not a dancer and male, he could honestly say no, even though he'd certainly noticed some sort of spark.

Gillian, on the other hand, had seen exactly the look that passed between the cat and the chorus girl as Mistoffelees had swept her up and completed the duet part of the Invitation. It was the same look that Peter still gave her today. The two, who's dancing styles were completely different-if not from experience than from species difference-danced with a fluidity that she'd only ever seen in years-long partners, or in lovers. And since this was obviously the girl's first serious production an that she'd obviously not met the Jellicle before, Gillian knew where the answer lie. When the aging choreographer saw that fluidity, the idea she'd been toying with solidified in her mind. And while the chemistry the couple were currently showing was quite wrong for the verified sibling status of the Musical's characters, Gillian still wanted half that.

When the music ended, and the female dancers stood breathless, more than one with a leg quivering, and Jo smacking Frank's hand for a bit of playful flirting, the girls stood waiting for the verdict. Gillian marched in front of them, looking each one over before moving on to the next, deep in thought. She began to speak.

"Now, I just saw seven lovely girls do seven beautiful bits of dancing. Each a bit different than the next, but all true to the original choreography. However, I didn't see nearly as much emotion as I would have liked. The original troupes of players in Britain and Broadway both fought for this, wanted it more than anything, because it was new, and unique, and they had faith they could make it work through gumption alone. You girls grew up with this play, and don't have the luxury of knowing it newborn. But you must _make_ it into a newborn play, not only for those here for the first time, but for those returning.

"Now, I know the role of Victoria is a very technical part; I also meant for the role to be a role of discovery. Victoria was meant to portray a young girl just coming into womanhood. Many of you had the steps down, but I could see something missing. And as numb as I've become to these steps over the years, if I can spot it, the audience can as well."

The girls looked amongst themselves, whispering silently to their still present partners and neighbors. The girl that understudied for Tantomile looked especially confident. Alicia and the girl next to her were staring at their feet with their fingers crossed. Gillian continued.

"For the role of Victoria, at least until Phyllida comes back, and possibly to be Phyllida's permanent understudy, I have chosen not the most technically wonderful dancer, but the best combination of both footwork and emotion. Miss Connors, congratulations."

Alicia stood perfectly still, her ears ringing as her fellow try-outs congratulated her. She felt, vaguely, Misto's hands on her arms, holding her suddenly Jell-O legs steady. Jake, John, Tugger, and the tiger twins gave out a cheer and promptly swept her up, spinning her around and off stage as the auditions for the other parts continued. In the sparkle of the blurred lights, all Alicia could seem to focus on was a pair of mis-matched eyes in a pale face. The edges crinkled in a wide feline grin.

For the next week, Alicia re-learned all the choreography for CATS. She knew a good deal of it from memorizing the video, but there was quite a bit more in the live production, and Victoria was a ridiculously visible part. Misto helped her practice whenever he could, and accepted the consequences of her training, mainly the fact that she passed out as soon as she hit the pillows. Sometimes she started drooping before they made it past the couch. In the days leading up to the premier performance, there were several other actor-understudy-Jellicle shuffles, as people got sick and got better, but the number of those out stayed about the same, and anyone with anything even resembling the swine flu was unofficially banned by Andrew until they got a clean bill of health. Alicia grew more and more nervous as opening day drew closer. Her biggest concern, other than choking on stage and ruining the show she'd worked so hard to be in, was Bryn. He'd been silent to her, and almost easy when they were practicing the Pas de Deux, but ever since she'd taken up with Mistoffelees, she'd felt more and more uneasy around him. The feeling only increased as the days counted down.

She'd sent the tickets the day she'd gotten the news, but hadn't heard back from her parents yet. Calling them slipped her mind in between the exhausting training, and they hadn't called either. The girl's worries mounted along with her anticipation as January the 10th drew closer and closer. As she walked the city nervously during lunch hours, unable to eat from the flighty nature of her stomach, she grew even more nervous as she overheard people buzzing about the play's return. On the few nights when she actually came out of her coma, to find herself wrapped in Misto's arms, she prayed to her jumbled-together version of God and the Everlasting Cat that she wouldn't disappoint anyone, including herself. She knew how high her own expectations were, and how highly she held the show, and she only hoped that Gillian's being a complete battle axe towards her training would help. She'd never been in a serious production before, and this was the mother of them all.

By the time she set foot in the theatre on the 10th, Alicia found that she couldn't breathe.


	14. Chapter 14 Contravertical Cats

Chapter 14. Contravertical Cats

In Which Things Get Very Crazy

The theatre was filling in rapidly, the sounds of rambunctious children and anxious adults filled the halls and the lobby, even though the show didn't start for another forty-five minutes. The dressing rooms were crowded and hot, and many of the Jellicles were in cat form out of sheer necessity for space. Mistoffelees was completing the last of the glamours on Jenny and Jelly, making sure they looked indistinguishable from Susie and Susan, even under the light of the stage or on film, because he knew that at least a few people had snuck cameras in. He was waiting for Andrew to ask him to change the wording on the programs, which had come in earlier than expected a week before but too late to send back to be reprinted to reflect the changes in the cast.

The black cat wondered briefly why he was willing to do all that he did for something that was little more than a children's show to him. He supposed, before Alicia had added extra incentive, that he did it out of respect for Jake and the fact that he liked Andrew and knew the older man needed help with certain things that only magic would get taken care of. It bothered him slightly, how much he did for the humans, when just a year ago he'd been comfortably tucked away in Queens with Jake and Shelby, spending his days as a sleepy housecat and moonlighting as a Jellicle with both the local tribe and his own imported tribe members from London.

It was funny, when he thought about it, how the musical had pulled the tribe together on a more permanent basis. He saw more of some of them now than he ever had. He saw his uncle and sister a lot less than he would have liked, up until the comeback had started up. Of course, Bustopher was always a social butterfly with the local queens in London, and it made sense he wanted to stay with them as much as possible, though now that he was mated, he'd be staying in the U. S. And Victoria had her considerable brood with Plato to raise, and another on the way, so her absence from his everyday made sense.

He had discussed it with his father several times. Things were changing for the tribe, and for other tribes around the world. Old Deuteronomy had known it for decades, known it even before he'd initially told Mr. Eliot of the Jellicles, but had said nothing, not knowing exactly when the changes would get to the level of drasticity he had forseen. The Jellicle elder explained that he was allowing the cats to interact with the humans to get them used to the changes while he could. It was the same reason, the old tom said, that he was allowing Mistoffelees to use his magic so much. He would need the experience and the power he was gaining in the coming years.

The black cat had not missed the significant looks his father had given both him and Alicia after Christmas. A chill ran down his back at the thought of his father knowing just what they'd been up to, and he knew nothing slipped past Old Deuteronomy for very long. He was certain that Deuteronomy was letting his indiscretion slip because Alicia had held a Jellicle form. He noticed the small, semi-permanent look of dissaproval on Munkustrap's face, his older brother not privy to the knowledge of changes and disliking change in general. A gnaw of worry ate at his gut, compounded by the worry he had for Alicia. She had started to notice the looks too, the cold shoulder of his elder brother, the constant knot of tension on Mistoffelees spine that even her deft fingers couldn't flicker away.

She had been horrendously sick the last week; unable to hold down anything for very long, working herself into a dangerous exhaustion, losing ten pounds that she really didn't need to lose. Even this morning, she'd thrown up three times before they'd met up at the theatre. He hadn't been able to miss the scents of the three separate sicks on her breath, even underneath the stink of too-strong mint gum. There were dark circles under her eyes, and he could tell she'd been crying, most likely out of frustration and not knowing whether her parents were going to come or not.

The black cat wondered backstage, dodging feet and parking his cat-formed self on one of the railings, out of the way. He saw Alicia buzzing around, helping various actors with their wigs and faces, a needle with a long straggler of white thread in her mouth. Her unitard hung off he shoulders, caught on the top of her bra. Charlotte finally grabbed her by the strap of the thing and tossed her bodily into a chair to do her face.

He watched as Alicia's eyes darted around the backstage, her face (what wasn't already smeared with greasepaint) blotched in a patchy flush. He heard Charlotte cluck her tongue at the girl, but couldn't make out the words said.

Alicia sat in the make-up chair, her heart hammering. She hadn't heard from her parents, and dispite the fact that she couldn't really stand her father anymore, they were still her parents. She wanted them to see her here, if just to prove what she was doing was worthwile. They'd been trying to convince her that Theatre was dying off, and she refused to believe it. This was her proof that they were wrong, her proof that she could, and in fact had, made it. She wasn't quite sure what she was going to do if they didn't show up.

She heard the orchestra tuning up outside, the noise of children and parents and the chatter of actors. A few of the newly appointed understudies were going over footwork, making her nervous that she'd forget her own. She'd been unable to warm up her voice, because every time she did, she got sick. Every time someone tried to talk to her, she found a quick way to dodge out of it, because she was so keyed up she was afraid she'd snap at them.

The second the wig was on her head she sprang out of the chair and began to bolt nervously from place to place backstage.

That was how Mistoffelees found her a half hour before the show; wringing her hands and trying not to vomit behind the Growltiger props.

"Alicia, what's the matter?" He asked, though he knew perfectly well what the problem was. He could practically smell her nervousness. The girl darted for him, grabbing him about the chest and letting all her worries fall from her in one big rush.

"Misto, what on earth was I thinking? I can't do this! I can't be Victoria! I can't! It's such a technical part, so visible, I know I'm just going to butcher it!"

"Stop that right now!" the tux tom reprimanded her gently, taking her chin in his paw so she'd look at him. "Obviously you can, or you wouldn't be here right now, in that costume. Jillian's seen more than her fair share of dancers play this part, and she still picked you! If that doesn't' tell you you can do this I don't know what will."

"But…"

"No buts. Not today. Not ever, as far as this is concerned. You've more than proven yourself. Where's the girl who'd near kill a boyfriend over a cat go? Where's the confidence of the Marine? Hmm? Come on, Cici, I know you can do this."

She gave him a tremulous smile. "You're right, of course. I'm just being silly. But I am still nervous to the point of stupidity."

Misto grinned…she'd been so nervous and exhausted the last week that they'd somehow managed to go that whole time without anything more than a cuddle before her falling into a jittery sleep, and he had a good feeling a bit of alone time would help calm her down tremendously. "I believe I can solve that," he whispered lasciviously into her ear, leaving her no doubt as to exactly how he meant to do so. Alicia giggled, snuck a look at her watch and then looked around. "Just a quick one…I have to be out in the rows in fifteen."

"Well, we'd best get to it then, shan't we?"

They snuck to a nearby supply closet and shut the door, not noticing that Tugger and John both saw them in passing.

Mistoffelees whispered two spells in quick succession, one to ensure the face paint stayed undamaged and another to shift the material of the unitard out of his way, before he backed Alicia into a wall and pinned her to it.

"Do you know how weird this feels? You look like my sister."

"But I'm not your sister," Alicia murmured, wrapping her legs around his waist, letting him hold her up as she kissed him, her tongue fighting for entrance past his lips.

Misto let her in gladly, quickly proceeding to duel back, barbs and slickness causing the opposite to shiver. His hands drifted between her legs as he held her up and began teasing her. He found her ready and felt her moan into his mouth in less than a minute and released her lips as he slid in, groaning. He'd missed this. He'd missed her.

"Hurry," he heard her gasp as they moved apart and came back together slowly, her body taking longer to adjust than normal. "Hurry, Misto! Oh! If they-if they find us…!"

"It doesn't matter…" He assured her, tightening his grip and quickening his pace nonetheless, "It doesn't matter. Not anymore. They can't touch us."

"Misto…"

"Shh."

He shifted and jerked back, carrying her with him before setting her down on an empty shelf so he could lay her back. Alicia cried out as he thrust at the new angle, hitting something he hadn't been before. She ground her heels into the base of his tail and bit his neck to urge him on, losing all track of time in the dark…

Sir Lloyd Webber looked at his watch impatiently, wondering where some of his cast was. He knew Elaine was in her dressing room, praying as she always did before a show. A few of the cast was out in the aisles, prowling as usual as the crowd filtered in. A few last minute costume repairs and makeup touch up jobs were going on, as usual, and Frank was poking the backstage rigging with a broom, trying to retrieve his shoe-Andrew did not want to know about that one. The older man swept over the actors again, wondering where Miss Connors and Mistoffelees were. The tux cat was playing himself for the next couple of days, since Jake had come down with a bout of the same flu his little girl had been fighting with on and off all winter. He hoped she wasn't ill, but it was getting dangerously close to the time she needed to be out.

Quietly posing the question if anyone had seen her, John got up and muttered something about thinking he'd seen her run to the supply closet.

John stuck his head in the supply closet and closed the door as quickly as he could, a pink stain dotting his cheeks.

"They're…practicing. Give them a minute."

Andrew huffed and stated that they'd had more than enough practice and they both needed to be out by now. John tried to stop him from opening the door, especially since both Munkustrap and Bryn were in line of sight with the door now, but Andrew was having none of it.

"Andrew! I really wouldn't interrupt them…" John called, rather too late.

Alicia let out a shuddering sigh as Mistoffelees sucked at her breast, his teeth sending jolts of electricity down her torso to where they were joined. They were both so close, lost in each other as Misto set the pace frantic, his hips bucking. The Jellicle felt her muscles contracting around him as her climax began, and he thrust harder, moving his mouth from her nipple back to her lips. He heard her muffled cry under his lips, and grinned.

Then he saw the open door, with the faces of Andrew, Munkustrap, Bryn, and several others in the line of sight, all getting an eyeful of him and Alicia an a position that absolutely could not be mistaken for anything else.

Slamming the door closed with a wave of magic, he noticed Alicia, looking panicked and close to tears.

"Forget about it," He said, intent on making her do so. He kissed her eyes and her lips, and proceeded to take up where he'd left off. He drew another orgasm from her before reaching his own, set the both of them to rights with a few whispered words, and repaired the costume and makeup to its normal mundane state.

"Misto….they know. They saw! What are we going to do?" Alicia moaned, looking miserable, not having any clue just what kind of trouble she'd be getting him into, just knowing it was a lot. Misto looked at her, and took her hand in his.

"We are going to go out on stage, dance our hearts out for that audience out there, and not give a damn what my tribe or the cast thinks about us until well after the performance, do you hear me?" Misto said, his voice strained, almost desperate to make her see that he didn't care and that she shouldn't worry, shouldn't let this ruin her moment. She grinned, her eyes still a bit teary, but bright. "You're right. That's exactly what we'll do, because I'm not ashamed of this, and I refuse to let them make me!"

"There's my girl," Misto said.

When they left the supply closet, the crowd gathered around had the decency to look embarrassed. Munkustrap's face was clouded over by a shadow of barely constrained rage, Bryn looked about ready to throw a snit, and Andrew was somehow managing to look as if this sort of thing happened all the time and was no big deal.

"You've got about ten minutes till curtain call if you want to run about," he said, not quite able to look them in the eyes "If everything's…put to rights, that is."

"Of course, Mr. Webber," Alicia said, sounding properly abashed.

Misto nodded to John and Andrew in turn, an indeterminate expression on his face. Munkustrap was making his way to the two of them, and his mouth open to protest before Misto set him with a glare, the tux's voice glacial as he growled at his brother.

"Later. You will not ruin this for her, Munkustrap. You will not."

The Musical

As the first strains of music swelled from the orchestra, Alicia ran on all fours out of the aisle she was in and disappeared up the back stairs to the stage. She'd looked for her parents, but between her little interlude with Misto and what had happened after, she'd only had about five minutes, and hadn't seen them. She gulped, and then decided that she wasn't going to let it bother her.

As the tune changed from the overture to Jellicle Songs, Alicia felt her heart catch in her throat as her cue came nearer. A pair of black and white arms snaked around her and she felt something brush against where her ear was under the wig. Misto's embrace calmed her, and she nodded silently as she slid away from him and slipped onstage.

The next few minutes were a blur of dancing and song, Alicia's feet somehow remembering the choreography with out her thinking about it and her voice ringing out with all the rest as she swung and leapt, blinded by the stage lights. She could still see a bit of the audience, but no matter how she squinted, her parents never came into view.

She got a better chance to look during The Naming, but it didn't matter, she still couldn't see them. She bit her lip, but before she could let it bother her, it was time for her to sneak away and drift into the Invitation. She took her solitary place on the stage with her heart hammering in her ears as she felt her body twist and contort in ways she wasn't sure how she managed. She tried to imagine what she looked like to the audience, the curvier lines of her body most likely detracting from the overall effect of the dance itself. Her lines had never been clean. But before her imagination could get away from her, there was Misto, and the rest of the cast, and the whirlwind started all over again.

By the time the Rum Tum Tugger's song rolled around, Alicia's anticipation had dulled to a slow simmer in the pit of her stomach, and she'd actually began to have fun. The tap dance scene in The Old Gumbie Cat had always been energetic and silly and she loved it. She'd noticed that a few of the cast and cats had given her odd looks throughout the numbers, but whenever she started to doubt herself, Misto was right there to give her a quick glance or touch that would boost her back up again.

Jellylorum found a moment to give her a hug during Bustopher's number, and Perry and Mungojerrie (both of whom were playing themselves) managed to pull her aside before the intermission to give her a quick hug, wink, and affirmation that it'd be okay.

Alicia drifted her way through the songs, watching the other actors as they played their roles. She could see how ingrained Elaine's own mannerisms were in the Grizabella character. She had a hard time not laughing at James Barrons' Bustopher, now that she'd met the real one.

When everyone ran backstage for the first of the Macavity scares, during the Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer bit, Alicia found herself surrounded by her friends, telling her what a wonderful job she was doing. Tugger came up from behind and buried her in a huge hug, his mane tickling her neck, and Michael gave her a rueful grin and nodded at Misto "That certainly explains a lot," he started. "Are the two of you happy?"

"Yes," Alicia said with a shy smile. Michael grinned back. "Well, I'm glad for that. You need a bit of happiness, both of you."

Alicia grinned and went off to go find her water bottle while she could. A hand snaked out of nowhere and grabbed her roughly by the wrist, spinning her around before pinning her to the wall. Bryn glared down at her, his face inches from her own.

"I guess that explains it, huh, you little skank? You've been shagging the cat this whole time. Huh. When you kept saying no to me I figured you must've been gay like half this damn cast. Silly me, for thinking it was the other type of puss you favored. Fucking a cat, who'd have thought! Ha. Must be a damn good pussy if you don't want anything to do with me!"

Alicia struggled against him as he held her, but he was too strong for her to do much against. "You're disgusting!" She hissed at him after he was done with his tirade. The big man only laughed. And then he kissed her. Before she knew what was happening, his mouth was on hers and his tongue down her throat. She gave a muffled cry and struggled, one arm coming loose. She beat on his chest, but that only seemed to encourage him, and he grabbed one of her breasts. Then, with a yell, he was gone. Alicia opened her eyes to see Misto glaring at the man on the ground, a smudge of face paint on his clenched fist.

"If you so much as think of touching her like that again, I'll castrate you!" the tom growled, his hackles raised and crackling with electricity. "I'll let you go, just so the play isn't ruined, but don't you dare think for an instant that I'll forget this."

Bryn glared up at Misto, who had his teeth bared. The cat looked at Alicia "Shall I tell Andrew now or wait until after the show?"

Alicia looked from Bryn to Misto, realizing that the man's career was in her hands. He hated her enough. "No. Andrew doesn't need to know. We'll finish tonight's show with him and the three of us will discuss what happened here tonight after you and I deal with everything else, Misto. If he's smart he'll realize I'm saving his ass-though even I don't know why I'm doing it." Alicia spat, her voice cold. Misto nodded, and with a wave, fixed the smudges he'd left on Bryn's face paint. Bryn, his eyes filled with an odd mix of rage, distaste, respect and relief, nodded to the both of them and stalked off.

"Are you alright?" Misto asked as he held Alicia. She shook a little, but smiled up at him. "I will be. I know I still have to dance with him, but I'm going to accept the challenge and make it look as if nothing happened. It just proves I'm a better actor than he is. I should have expected something like this, he's been hounding me since we started, and the closeness has only made it worse."

"You should have told me…I can't notice everything."

"I know, but I didn't want to worry you. I thought I could handle it. Seems I was wrong and need my panther after all."

Misto smiled at that, hoping she didn't notice the slight glow on his fingers as he surreptitiously calmed her. Bryn, he had another spell saved for. A collar only Misto could see sat hovering at his neck, poised to incapacitate him if he tried anything else. It wouldn't hurt him, much as the black cat wished it would, but he certainly wouldn't lay another of his filthy hands on Cici. Misto wished he could do more, but Cici had made her decision and there were the human laws to consider.

After a few long moments just holding each other, Misto let Alicia go, letting her run off to the bathroom.

Alicia made it back on stage just in time to chase off Mungojerrie and Jojo. The stage went quiet for a moment, and the next thing Alicia knew, she was crawling on the floor, following Ken up to the Great Tyre, during the Deuteronomy number, and then watching the rest of the crew go through the Pekes and Pollicles paces before she slipped away to get into her Pom head.

The Jellicle Ball had her stomach flipping like crazy again, but as the music continued, she found herself getting lost in it once again. She was blinded by the stage lights as she took her place in the front of the formation, but she scanned for her parents nonetheless. She couldn't see them, and her chest tightened, but her feet didn't seem to listen, and she felt herself spinning around the stage, lights blurring as she danced. The music slowed, and before she knew it, she was facing a Plato faced Bryn. His was smiling, but the mix of anger and attraction in his eyes belied the expression. Alicia knew her eyes were steel, even if the rest of her face radiated 'Victoria's' happiness.

Bryn rubbed his head against her belly, and she shied away, before coming back to him and twisting together. Her hands gripped her waist and she felt a slight moment of disorientation as she leapt and he helped her flip upside-down. The fingers he ran down her thigh dug in a bit to hard, and the hand in question passed far to close to certain places, but the rest of the pas de deux went smoothly, Alicia flipping over gracefully and being brought to rest over Geoffrey's stomach. She felt a familiar hand scratch her head as she lay back, and peeped to see Misto wink at her, even as Bryn's too-rough fingers dug into her breasts. Misto had to let that one go, since that bit of fondling was part of the choreography. There was nothing she could do about having to lay down next to Walters on the stage, so she suffered through it, waiting for the trill of the trumpets to announce Grizabella crashing the ball. She was up as soon as she heard her cue, and the next few minutes passed in a multicolored whirl of lights and music and movement that left her dizzy and excited with her heart beating in her throat.

When the roaring applause died down and they called intermission over the intercom, she darted away like a shot, her vision going black for a second before the vertigo of excitement and exertion passed.

Misto watched from his spot behind the Growltiger props as Alicia bolted backstage. He knew her routine from filming and rehearsal; knew she stripped, took a quick whore's bath in one of the sinks and dried out her costume under the hand dryers before running out to mingle with the audience in the few short minutes she had before Moments of Happiness began to play.

Mistoffelees saw a grey tabby cat slinking into the ladies room. He glared and cast a silent spell before going to scoop up his brother.

"I told you to wait, Munkustrap. I didn't want to have to force the issue."

Alicia was still catching her breath when Ken's deep voice began to float through the theatre as the play roared back to life with The Moments of Happiness. She'd run around the audience again, but had been so preoccupied talking to some little kids that she'd missed her parents. Her blood was zinging around so fast that she didn't actually have the ability to concentrate on that bit of misfortune too long. So she sat on the stage in a rather tangled pose, batting playfully at Frank and just relaxing to the sound of Ken's voice. She really ought to tell him how much she liked his voice, she thought vaguely as the song ended.

She didn't have much to do during the next number, so she just sat with the other Kitten Girls and watched as Jellylorum and Mr. Gambon's understudy Bobby went through the Gus duet. She almost missed her cue the last time FireFrorFiddle appeared, she was so busy still trying to figure out how that mirror trick worked with John. Mungojerrie shooed her off at the last moment before chasing after her to get ready for the Growltiger number.

Alicia slunk into the Siamese unitard and ridiculous mascot head and waited, sword fighting with the other girls and peeping out of the scenery to watch the boys play pirates. 'Growltiger' and 'Griddlebone' were absorbed in a epic tickle fight/come-and-catch-me game that had the audience in stitches when she could finally slink out.

The choreographed sword fighting soon dissolved into chaos and ad-libbed cat-sults to the instrumental parts of the song. Alicia and Jojo's understudy Amanda were having far too much fun dueling with Karl and Fergus right up until Mungojerrie, done up gloriously as Ghengis, somersaulted to Centre stage in front of Bobby. The two proceeded into a swashbuckling battle that wouldn't have looked out of place in a Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Bobby eventually fell to Mungojerrie's sword, and was forced to walk the plank, his splashing, gargling demise broadcast over the theatre and followed by a harrowing crescendo.

There was a crazy flurry of movement as the Growltiger set was dragged back into place by the cast. Mistoffelees watched as Cici ran about, grinning from all the fun as she got into place for Geoff's number. He had already started scoping out the rigging, knowing his own bit of the show was coming soon. Geoff made a good Skimble, his natural hyperness and silly streak matching the real tom to a 'T'. Misto watched the girl dressed like his sister for a moment more before looking out into the audience. He hadn't told Alicia, but he knew her parents weren't there. The why of it was lost to him, but he couldn't find them, no matter how hard he hunted with eyes or mind.

Alicia watched Bryn, Frank, Karl, Fergus and John all scatter backstage after the Irish jigging and collapse of the rubbish train. Two were going for Macavity costumes and the rest for the soot-stained henchcat getups. The rest of the cast scattered at Macavity's evil cackle. She saw Misto sprinting to his place up on the lift rope as she dove under he brass pipes of the bed. Rose Marie and Aeva's understudy Tammy made their gyrating way across the stage, crooning about the Napoleon of Crime. The rest of the female cast darted out at the last verse for their chorus line. Alicia found she liked it in the back as well. It was nice not being the main focus.

Bryn shambled on stage in the Old Deuteronomy coat and mask as John mimed in the corner as his double. Tammy threw her hissy-fit perfectly, zipping across the stage to hiss manically at everyone flamboyantly before almost tackling Bryn as she dove at him. He threw her off and knocked away Michael before diving back to kidnap Tammy. Jason grabbed her away as Michael joined in the weird tug of war. The action escalated from there until the whole tribe joined in in an enormous choreographed fight scene where everyone got a crack at Macavity. Frank, Karl, and Fergus even popped back in as Hench cats for a few swipes before being chased off. Bryn finally made his way to the jumper cables, which set off the lights flashing and pyrotechnics flaring throughout the theatre. Alicia heard the audience screaming and almost jumped out of her skin.

In the dark of the stage, she saw Tammy and Michael meet in the dark and heard the call go up to find old Deuteronomy. John's voice slithered through the blackness before the spotlight found him, and she slunk away to hid near the pipe, waiting for Misto.

Misto felt himself lowered on the rope on cue and clicked on that ridiculous fifteen pound light vest. He didn't see how Jake danced in the damn thing. He was off dancing and hamming things up with John the minute his feet touched the ground. He sang a little in this one, and flipped through the staged magic tricks as fast as he could, laughing as Veerle and Jo ran off with that silly rainbow ribbon. He grinned when he made Cici 'appear' from nowhere by way of pyrotechnics that blinded the audience for a moment. He spun his way through the conjuring turn easily, though he was sure his eyes were crossed for a second afterward.

Rebecca and Ken pulled off the switch-a-roo flawlessly, thought he'd expected nothing else, practiced old hats that they were, though Ken's knees seemed to bother him a bit more than they used to.

At the last second of his number, the lights strobed and he managed to disappear in the confusion.

Veerle began to sing softly as the lights refocused, and Elaine made her liming way out to center stage, where the 'older' cats went about guarding the kittens.

Alicia sat watching as Elaine sang, waiting for her cue, and felt tears damp her lashes. The night was almost over. When she went to accept Grizabella back into the tribe, Elaine smiled at her, noticing the tears. Cici handed her off to Misto and then watched as Elaine was lead to the descending walkway on the hydraulic tyre and smiled. The tears flowed freely as the memory of another cat meeting their end and beginning came to mind. And just like then, warm and thin-furred fingers found their way between hers and made everything okay.

Before she knew it, she was singing the chorus to The Ad-Dressing of Cats and flowing through what little choreography it had and then standing between Frank and Rose Marie and taking her bows to deafening applause.

After the Musical

The next half hour was a blur, but eventually she found herself backstage, wrapped in Misto's arms as she cried.

"They weren't here!" She cried "I worked so hard, and they didn't even bother to come!"

"And yet, you were still wonderful. The news that this musical came back is going to be everywhere, and that we had such a great opening night just as much. They'll hear and regret not coming…if it was a conscious decision. Call your sister when everything's done with, see if they had car trouble or something…it is four hours away."

"You really need to stop saying exactly the right thing, or I'm going to think you're reading my mind and cheating."

"Heaviside forbid…I'd get lost in that mess."

"Ahem." came a voice behind them. Munkustrap stood there, his eyes ablaze and his arms crossed. "We will discuss this, now, Quaxo."

Mistoffelees moved slightly in front of Alicia, an odd noise coming from his throat. He heard her swallow hard. He doubted she'd ever seen Munkustrap so angry.

"Please tell me I did not see what my mind is screaming at me that I saw."

"And what is it exactly you think you saw, Munk?"

"You know damn well. You, and her, twined up around each other like eels. Tell me I'm just an old pervert and that you were'nt stupid enough to do something that will get you exiled."

Misto heard Cici's sharp intake of breath. Feeling guilty for a moment for not telling her the consequences, he decided to deal with that later and put his older brother back in his place.

"Old pervert or not, you saw exactly what you think you did. I'm not ashamed of it."

Munkustraps eyes grew wider, his pupils going to slits, and he drew back his shoulders as if braced for a slap.

"Are you mad? She's human!"

"Quite possibly. And…what exactly is the problem with that?"

"Aside from being disgusting? The fact that it breaks more laws than I can even name!"

"Munkustrap…" Misto began; Munkustrap cut him off with a hissed "NO!" and a stinging slap.

"How could you do this? Do you realize what a danger this is to the tribe? How long has this been going on under my nose? Since Christmas? Before? When this bloody musical debacle all started?" Munkustrap hissed, shaking his younger brother by the shoulders, his teeth clenched in ill hidden rage

"I hardly see how it's any of your business how I could do 'this.'"

"Don't try being cute! Do you realize what you've done? The laws you've broken? Mistoffelees, I cannot allow this to go on! As guardian of the tribe, I forbid you to ever see her again-in ANY form!"

"Forbid? You can't forbid me from doing anything! And don't you ever try to lecture me on the laws of our people again!"

"Watch your tongue!"

"My tongue, my arse! Watch your own, Munkustrap!"

"This is insubordination! You are not to see that, that human again, and I'll see to it myself that you're punished"

"You can't punish me. I'm not some defenseless little kit you need to stand up for anymore. I can make my own decisions, Munk, and this is one of them."

"You're still a member of this tribe, and under my authority because of it, little brother."

"Didn't I tell you to hold your own bloody tongue? Don't make me pull rank on you Munkustrap. I've never had to before, but I swear to Bast I will if you don't Drop It!"

"Pull rank?"

"Yes, brother, rank."

"You can't pull rank on me, you little shit!"

"Oh, but I can, brother." Mistoffelees hissed dangerously, his voice dropping and his eyes going dark. "Have you been guardian so long you've forgotten where the rest of us stand? Forgotten who I am!? I am the heir to Deuteronomy's throne. I am the next leader of our tribe. I know more about our ways and laws than you'll ever hope to hear hints of." Munkustrap opened his mouth to object, but the smaller tom wouldn't let him.

"I know our laws backwards, forwards, slantwise and sideways, and I know exactly what I'm doing with Alicia, and I'll denounce the whole bloody lot of you to prove it if I have to!" Mistoffelees roared, his voice going harsh and deep as sparks flew uncontained from his fingers. Munkustrap's eyes were wide, fear flashing in their depths. Mistoffelees deflated suddenly. "I love her Munkus, why can't you just accept that and go on?"

"Because this is dangerous! She could get us all killed!"

"Killed? Killed! Look at her! She's more cat than some cats I've met, and she'd do nothing to harm any of us and you know it!"

"That you know of! If we mix with humans any more…father's loosing his mind, letting this happen. You know what they're like, what they do to their own kind for even the slightest bit of difference. They'll use us all up and the lot of us could be dead in a year! I'm not going to let your blindness hurt my family!"

"Things are changing, Munkustrap. I don't know how fast or why, but they are. We were going to be found out sooner or later anyway. Whether it be hundred years from right now or a hundred days, I don't know. But things are changing, and I'd rather be in control of the situation than someone else when they do. If you take her away from me…Munkustrap, if you separate us, I will leave the tribe, and you will never see either of us again. Then you won't have to worry about us being a danger to anyone"

"So, you'd leave us all leaderless just for her?"

"Yes."

"Abandon your family, your tribe, everything, for a little human dancer with no magic and with no way to get back in if things go wrong?"

"Yes."

"You're a fool Mistoffelees."

"No, Munkustrap, you're the fool. A fool for automatically throwing Alicia to the wolves for something as small as the fact that she's human."

"Small? I'd say that's a pretty large something, Quaxo!"

"No, Munk, it's tiny in the scheme of things, and that inability to see that it is is exactly why Father chose not to go against tradition with you. Had you more of an open mind, you would be the heir and not me. Yes, I see you know it, somewhere in that thick head of yours. Your inability to see, to bend, holds you back, and it always will. I am through with this. Make your choice and live with it, and then come to me when you get your head out of your ass."

"Mistoffelees…"

"Make you're choice, Munkustrap. Because I've already made mine."

Munkustrap stood stupid with shock as his younger brother walked away, his arms around Alicia.

Mistoffelees walked away, not caring that he hadn't settled things with Bryn, not caring that he had just destroyed his relationship with his brother and possibly alienated the tribe, not caring that he'd soon have to answer to his father. The only thing he cared about was getting Cici out of the hostility and explaining everything before the whole situation got crazy, which he knew it would. He could almost smell the proverbial shit he'd thrown into the fan.


End file.
